


...and light to meet it

by A_Spark_Of_Hope



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Brief mentions of torture, Canon Divergent, Canon Rewrite, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Happy Ending, M/M, Minor Character Death, Mutual Pining, Seriously there's so much pining, Slow Burn, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Fix-It, brief mentions of parental abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:54:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 86,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26366020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Spark_Of_Hope/pseuds/A_Spark_Of_Hope
Summary: For weeks, he had been haunted by the voices in his head, all urging him to come to Mustafar and seek the Wayfinder. It would, they said, lead him to the place where he could finally take his next steps as Supreme Leader, and rule the galaxy as he saw fit, where he would come face to face with the Emperor himself, even though he knew Palpatine to be long dead. The Wayfinder, he was told, would lead him to the oldest standing Sith temple. So he was more than a little surprised when the navigational readout in his TIE plotted a route to-“Coruscant…?”***Or: A TROS rewrite because it really could have been good with some tweaks and adjustments
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Finn, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 48
Kudos: 66





	1. Somehow

Mustafar was a far cry from what it used to be. Though still dry and oppressively hot, the planet was no longer the fiery death trap it had once been. Not like that time, generations ago, when two Jedi fought through the rivers of lava as though the fate of the galaxy depended on the outcome. 

No, Mustafar had begun to return to itself again when the descendant of Lady Corvax had returned and restored the Bright Star, the sacred artifact that was at once the planet’s source of joy and suffering. When the power of the Bright Star had been unleashed some 35 years ago, Mustafar had begun to heal. Where there was once a barren expanse - the dirt hot, dry, and cracked - there was now a copse of trees. Corvax Fen, the acolytes called it, in honour of the one who had been the saviour of the world. 

Under normal circumstances, Corvax Fen was given over to the worship of the Dark Side of the Force. A quiet place dwelling in the shadow of Vader’s palace, which no acolyte had ever dared enter. That day though, Corvax Fen was far from quiet.   
A small ship screamed through the air, and the acolytes knew the time had come. It was as the Master had predicted. It was time to protect the Wayfinder.

***

Supreme Leader Kylo Ren leapt out of his TIE fighter, igniting his lightsaber as he did so. That voice, that cursed voice had told him the key to what came next would be here, housed in a tomb on Mustafar.

Like so many other things in his life, this was not how this was supposed to go. He’d once thought killing his father would bridge the gap between what light remained in his soul and the dark that coursed through his veins. Then he’d thought that by killing Snoke, by eliminating the voice that had tormented him since before he could remember, he would be able to embrace the dark, to seize power on his own terms. He thought of having _her_ by his side while he did so. With her light to balance his dark, perhaps they stood a chance at burning the whole thing to the ground and starting over.

 _No_ , Kylo reminded himself. He couldn’t waste time thinking about her. Not now. 

Because nothing ever went to plan. Because killing his father hadn’t bridged that gap. Because when he’d offered the scavenger his hand, she had tried to lead him back to the life he’d left behind. To his mother. To her precious _resistance_. The girl couldn’t possibly understand that there was no place for him among the galaxy’s so-called heroes, that there never would be. But most importantly, he couldn’t afford to dwell because killing Snoke had done nothing to quiet the voices in his head. If anything, they’d amplified. He could still hear Snoke, like a constant, persistent hum at the back of his head. Sometimes the voice changed. At times, the voice was deep, rich, and underscored my mechanical breathing. Vader. His grandfather. Other times, the voice was that of an unknown, higher, crueler. But no matter which voice he heard, it was always the same message. Kylo had lost everything, and now as Supreme Leader of the First Order, he was more alone than ever, and had no choice but to listen. It invaded his mind, pulling his heart and thoughts towards their darkest instincts. The same instincts that had successfully pulled Anakin Skywalker to the dark side.

Kylo made straight for the guarded tomb, his soldiers and the Knights of Ren following close behind. The red-robed Sith acolytes charged as the group approached. The Knights spread out and cut down any acolyte who dared try and fight them. Kylo charged straight for the leader. Blaster bolts in the dry brush ignited the leaves into a small fire, which licked at the ankles of the fighters. As Kylo slid towards an acolyte, his boots dragged some leaves with him, spreading the fire further and making him look for all the world like the demon the acolytes were starting to believe he was. He stabbed the man in the chest, then sliced off the arm of a second guard who had thought to stop him. One acolyte remained between himself and the tomb. He used the Force to pull the red-robed man directly into the path of his blade. The final guard dead, he switched off the lightsaber, breathing heavily. He brushed a lock of hair out of his eyes, and took the last few steps towards his quarry.

The tomb the Sith devotees had guarded until their last breath was a squat grey enclosure covered in ancient engravings. For something so important, he was surprised at how small it was, reaching only up to his hip.

He pushed back the lid with more force than necessary; it was lighter than he’d expected. As it hit the ground, Kylo reached in and drew out a triangular device about the size of his hand. The device was not unlike the Sith Holocrons he had read about at Luke’s temple. He turned abruptly and marched back to his TIE.

“Return to the fleet,” he snapped at the Knights. “This next step is for me to take alone.”

The Knights acknowledged wordlessly and headed back to their own ships. He climbed into his TIE and had the device plugged in before the hatch had fully closed. 

For weeks, he had been haunted by the voices in his head, all urging him to come to Mustafar and seek the Wayfinder. It would, they said, lead him to the place where he could finally take his next steps as Supreme Leader, and rule the galaxy as he saw fit, where he would come face to face with the Emperor himself, even though he knew Palpatine to be long dead. The Wayfinder, he was told, would lead him to the oldest standing Sith temple. So he was more than a little surprised when the navigational readout in his TIE plotted a route to-

“Coruscant…?”

***

Across the galaxy, aboard the Millennium Falcon, a Wookie and two humans were locked in the most intense of conflicts.

“Are you ever gonna go?” Poe Dameron asked impatiently. 

Chewbacca roared in response, causing the holographic pieces on the dejarik board to squeak in fear.

Finn leaned in to Poe and muttered, “He can’t beat us every time.”  
Poe surveyed the board for a moment.

“He’s going to.”

“How does he do it?”

“This guy here?” Poe raised his voice slightly. “It’s ‘cause he cheats.”

Chewbacca roared again, indignity apparent in every syllable. 

“I’m kidding!” Poe laughed.

“Come on, take your turn!” Finn urged. In the countless trips he’d taken in the Falcon over the last year, Finn had come to take dejarik very seriously. He was going to beat that Wookie one day, so help him. 

Chewbacca was still mumbling, hurt at Poe’s accusation. 

“You’re 250 years old, of course you’re better than us,” Poe said, trying to calm Chewie down. Finn was having none of it. The roaring was an act, he was sure of it.

“You’re taking forever. That’s why we think you’re cheating.”

Suddenly the ship jolted, and an alarm began to sound. 

“Hey! A little help over here?” a woman’s voice called out.

The three players straightened up and began to slide out of the booth. Chewie hesitated.

“Don’t worry!” Finn told him. 

“We’re not gonna turn it off,” Poe added.

Chewie groaned and slid out of his seat. Poe went to follow, but Finn grabbed his arm.

“He’s cheating,” Finn said through gritted teeth.

“Definitely,” Poe assured him, switching the board off.

The men stood up and made for the passageway. 

“Rose, I hope you fixed that surge!” Poe called as he ran past an open panel that partially concealed a short woman holding a tool kit. 

“What do you think I was doing while you were playing games?” Rose shouted back.

Poe rounded the corner into the cockpit and all but dove into the pilot seat. Rose stepped out and shut the panel, grabbing Finn’s arm as he tried to pass.

“Did you tell him?”

“Huh? No, not yet.”

“He still hasn’t asked about-“

“T-minus 5,” Poe called out. Rose gestured at Finn to go and continued packing up her tools. Finn skidded to a halt under the opening hatch just as R2-D2 rolled up to join him. The overhead hatch slid open and wind rushed in, the sound nearly deafening. Their informant Boolio, who they’d come all this way to meet, poked his large green head up to make sure the ships had lined up properly.

“Boolio! You got something for us?” Finn asked.

“From a new ally! There’s a spy in the First Order!” Boolio yelled back.

“A spy? Who?” 

“I don’t know! Transfer the message, hurry!”

Boolio tossed a thick cable down to them, which Finn grabbed and plugged into R2.

Poe’s computer lit up, beeping frantically. A TIE fighter had appeared on their tail, and the small size of the ship meant they were catching up quickly. 

“Finn, hurry, they’re here!”, he yelled. “Rose, buckle up”

Rose secured her tools, then slid into her seat, fastening the restraints as Finn called “Almost there!”

Poe fought to keep the ship steady, their connection with Boolio’s ship not allowing him to swerve. 

“Poe, we got it!” Finn called out. To Boolio, he said, “How do we thank you?”

As Boolio retracted the cable, he said simply: “Win the war!”

R2 rolled away to secure himself somewhere for the bumpy ride ahead, while Finn headed straight for the gunner’s chair.  
  
Once seated he immediately began firing. Not fast enough though. The bolt from one of the TIE’s hit the Falcon in just the right way that the whole ship jolted. Everyone in the cockpit grunted in pain as they were tossed forward. 

“Finn, you’re supposed to be getting rid of those things!” Poe called.

“Sorry, sorry.” Finn said. “Ooh, I got one!”

“How many left?”

“Too many”

“Hang on, I want to try something.”

With that, Poe suddenly threw the ship into lightspeed, before bringing it back out almost immediately. When they returned to realspace, they were on a snow covered planet careening through an icy cave.

“How thick do you think that ice wall is?” Poe asked.

“WHAT?” Rose shrieked.

Poe threw the ship into lightspeed again only momentarily before bringing them back to real space. Finn, sitting in the swinging gunners chair, was starting to feel a little nauseous. 

“Poe! What are you doing?” he shouted while swallowing down the bile that was definitely rising in his throat. 

“Lightspeed skipping!”

“How do you know how to do that?”

But Poe didn’t have time to answer. He was too busy sending them in and out of lightspeed again.

“Rey is going to _kill_ you,” Rose said weakly, fighting nausea of her own.

“Rey’s not here is she?” Poe snapped. An alarm began to sound. Poe glanced at the readouts on the computer. “Last jump…maybe forever,” he said, throwing the handle forward again.

***

After all these years, after the rise and fall of the Empire, not much had changed on Coruscant, with one notable exception. The plaza housing the old Jedi temple was avoided at all costs. Residents said that once the Empire fell, something there just didn’t feel right. It hadn’t really felt right after the Jedi were wiped out either, but in the years following the Battle of Endor it had gotten worse. Thirty years of habit meant that the entire complex was completely empty now, as Kylo Ren landed his TIE fighter directly by the Jedi Temple entrance. 

_How odd_ , he thought, _for the Wayfinder to lead him to the old Jedi temple_. The complex was colossal. Where was he meant to go from here?

He stretched out with the Force, trying to feel for his next steps, and… _there_. Like an icy cold shadow wrapping itself around him he felt it. The Jedi temple was built atop the ruins of an old Sith temple, and that was where he needed to go. 

The walk was long and eerily silent. The main floor of the temple had played home to Imperial administrators after the fall of the Jedi. He could see remains from the Empire’s heyday scattered here and there. As he ventured further down into the temple, Imperial remains became fewer, and the Jedi artifacts grew in number. 

When he reached the lowest possible level of the Jedi temple, he reached into the Force again. A hexagonal design in the centre of the floor seemed to be calling out to him. He stood on top of it, still tapping into the dark side of the Force. Then, with a jolt, the platform began to descend. The air around him was musty, undisturbed for who knew how long. Through the swirling dust, he could just make out massive statues, the Sith of old all glaring down at him, their stares becoming more and more intimidating the lower his platform got. He gripped his lightsaber tighter. The platform came to a halt three feet from the ground.

“At last…”

A cold voice rang out through the air. The same voice Kylo had heard in his mind. The one he couldn’t place. He activated his lightsaber and hopped down from the platform. The temple was mostly in darkness, save for an eerie glow emanating from one spot towards the centre. He walked towards it cautiously.

“Snoke trained you well…” the voice continued. 

Kylo swallowed his apprehension and replied: “I killed Snoke. I’ll kill you.”

He could now make out a shadowy figure up ahead, standing immobile on a dais, and there was no doubt this was where the voice was coming from.  
“My boy, I made Snoke. Just as I made Vader. I have been every voice you have ever heard inside your head.”

As the figure spoke, the voices changed. He could hear Snoke’s voice, and Vader’s mixed in there along with the cruel, cold voice that had greeted him now. He then confirmed what he had suspected. This third voice was that of Emperor Palpatine. 

“You have the First Order in hand, but I can give you so much more,” Palpatine said.

“You’ll die first.”

“I have died already.”

Enough of this. Kylo raised his lightsaber and pointed it menacingly up towards the red-robed figure.

“What could you give me?”

An eerie spectral glow emanated from under Palpatine’s crimson hood.

“Everything.”

The glow continued to brighten until it was blinding. Kylo was forced to shut his eyes. When he reopened them, it was as though a large window had been carved into the wall of the temple. Through it, he could see Star Destroyers. Dozens. No, hundreds of them, lying idle in the abandoned shipyards on the far side of Coruscant. Palpatine continued.

“A new Empire, risen from the chaos of the First Order. My loyal followers, those who saw purpose in the might of the Empire never abandoned me. Their numbers have grown through the years, always in shadow. They will be at your command if you do as I ask. Kill the girl. End the Jedi. Do what your grandfather Vader could not.”

The image on the wall faded away. Kylo lowered his lightsaber.

“You will rule the galaxy as the new Emperor. But beware…she is not what you think she is.”

He turned back to Palpatine.

“What is she?”

***

She loved this part. The floating. The peace that came with it. Feeling the Force flow through her as she reached out.

“Be with me,” Rey whispered softly. “Be with me.”

The part she didn’t love? When she reached out into the Force and found no one reaching back. Her eyes snapped open in frustration.

“Ugh, they’re not with me.”

Executing a rather elegant midair flip, Rey broke out of her meditative pose and touched down softly on the forest floor of Ajan Kloss, the world where resistance leadership had set up a base of operations. Leia Organa, former senator, current resistance leader, and Rey’s current Jedi master, stood in the shadow of a nearby tree. 

“Rey, you have to be patient,” Leia chided gently.

“I’m starting to think it isn’t possible. To hear the voices of the Jedi who came before.”

“It’s not impossible.” Leia paused for a moment, considering. “But no one ever said it was easy either.”

“I need to burn off some energy. I’m going to run the training course.”

Leia stepped out of the way, gesturing for Rey to go ahead. 

Rey picked up her repaired lightsaber and took off at a run. It was always like this. Anytime she got frustrated with her training, she needed to take it out on a physical outlet; so, she and Leia designed the training course. She had been using it a lot lately. It had the added feature of old Jedi training orbs designed to attack at random intervals to keep Rey’s skills sharp. One such droid burst through the trees now, firing low-setting blaster bolts at Rey. She had deflected a few when a sound in the brush distracted her. The droid fired again, the bolt grazing her upper right arm. That got her attention. She lunged forward, activating the lightsaber, and impaled the droid on a tree. Holding the lightsaber in place, she turned to check her arm. She gingerly poked at a fresh burn, nestled just above a long pink scar on her bicep, a souvenir from her trip to the First Order ship last year.

The problem with opening yourself up to the Force is how easily you can fall back into it. As soon as she touched her scar, she was pulled into a vision. A series of images, not unlike when she found Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber, now hers, in Maz Kanata’s castle: Han Solo, stabbed in the chest; Luke, facing down the First Order on Crait; Leia, lying alone in a medbay; herself, in the desert on Jakku, crying for her parents to come back, reaching out, willing them not to leave; herself again, older now, on Ach To, reaching out for the hand of the man seated across from her... The man who was there, but not really there. Ben.

 _No, not Ben_ , she thought bitterly. _Kylo. He made his choice._

As if prompted by the thought, she now saw Kylo Ren standing among some trees, flanked by large, intimidating masked figures, their weapons drawn. Behind her, she felt a chill. A cold evil presence creeping up on her, lurking just out of sight.

She let out a cry and swung the lightsaber around. The blade definitely made contact with something. Her vision cleared and she saw she had cut down a tree, not a human. A tree that was now sitting directly on top of BB-8.

“BB-8!” she gasped. “I’m so sorry!”

She eased him out from under the tree, and led him back to the base, at a slower pace this time. 

Leia was waiting for her when she got back. 

“Everything alright?” Leia asked.

“I saw…” Rey sighed. “Memories. Feelings. Distracted me. I don’t know, I guess I’m not feeling like myself.”

Rey clipped the lightsaber back onto her belt. Leia gestured towards it.

“You know, I never did understand why you didn’t just take the crystal from that saber and put it into your own.”

“I did think about it. It just…didn’t feel right.”

“Is that the only reason why?”

“Yeah, I-“

She stopped speaking as she became aware of a commotion a little closer to the base. Leia heard it too, and turned towards the source of the noise. Kaydel Ko Connix came running through the trees.

“General! Rey! Falcon’s back!”

The Falcon was indeed back. The Falcon was also on fire. Crews rushed around, dousing the flames in water as Poe, Finn, Rose and R2 made their way down the ramp. 

“Fire! It’s on fire! The whole thing! Just…all of it,” Poe called out to no one in particular. 

Rey caught up to the group.

“How did it go?”

Finn and Rose tried to answer, but Poe interjected.

“Really bad, actually. Could have used your help out there.”

“What happened? Han’s ship…”

“What did you do to my droid?” Poe shouted, suddenly registering BB-8’s tree-related damage.

“At least he isn’t on fire,” Rey snapped

“What’s left of him isn’t!” Poe retorted.

“Tell me what happened.”

“You first!”

“You know what you are?” Rey asked, having had just about enough. “You’re a difficult man.”

Poe looked like he was about to reply, but was prevented by Finn, who yanked him back slightly.

“Finn! You made it back!”

“Barely”

“Bad mood?” she asked, pointing at Poe.

“Always,” Finn replied, rolling his eyes.

“So what happened? Was there-“

R2 rolled up and chirped something at Rey.

“You lightspeed skipped?” she asked, horrified. “The compressor’s down! You can’t lightspeed skip the Falcon.”

“Turns out, you can!” Poe snapped, kneeling to check on BB-8.

“I told him it was a bad idea!” Rose called, unloading the last of her equipment and heading over to join them. “We also blew both sub-alternators, it was more than I could handle alone.”

“You WHAT?” Rey shouted, losing what cool she had left.

“You dropped a tree on my droid?”, Poe said, standing up.

“Guys, cool it,” Finn cut in. Both Poe and Rey took deep, angry breaths.

“So, no spy?” she asked finally.

“No. Spy. A mole in the First Order sent a message. You’ll see.”

He walked away, R2 trailing behind him. Finn shrugged apologetically, then followed.

“You know,” Rose said, as the two women made their way towards where a crowd was gathering. “Maybe you should be out there with us. You’re the best fighter we have, you’re a pilot, a…well, a decent enough mechanic. We could use you.”

“You know I want to be!”

“I know, but…You’re not. You’re here training all the time, and I just wonder…what’s all the training for if you don’t plan on using it?”

Rey paused, Rose’s words cutting deeper than she had probably intended. Worse, she was right.

“Poe, Finn,” Leia said, her quiet yet commanding voice calling all assembled to attention. “What was the message?”

“It confirms the worst.” Poe took a deep breath and sighed, as if he couldn’t believe what he was about to say. “Somehow, Palpatine has returned.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't written fic in years, and I haven't put them out publicly...ever so this is a big step for me!
> 
> I also haven't read the TROS novelization (yet), so any dialogue I reuse is coming straight from the movie. 
> 
> A big thank you to my beta reader for catching everything my proofread didn't, for her comments, and most importantly for her encouragement 
> 
> Thanks for reading this far! I promise this will start to diverge from TROS in future chapters, we just needed the setup first.


	2. Festival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another desert world. You’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. 
> 
> She led the way down the ramp and very quickly realized it wasn’t very much like Jakku after all. Yes, the sand and rocks were the same, but the heat was tolerable, the air was tinged with spices, and she could just make out the faint sounds of cheering and music.

“What?”

“No!” 

The silence that had fallen on all those assembled was broken in an instant. The younger members of the Resistance looked as if they didn’t believe Poe’s announcement, and were still waiting for the real message. But the older ones, those who vividly remembered life in the Empire looked horrified, like a person who had woken up from a bad dream, only to find that the nightmare was still ongoing. 

“Poe, come on!” Rose exclaimed. 

“You can’t be serious!” Connix said, rolling her eyes.

“How is that even possible?” asked Aftab Ackbar, the son of the famed Admiral Ackbar.

But no one had a good answer for him. Some of the older leadership had gathered around Leia, and they all spoke in hushed tones. 

“General?” asked Rey, who had been watching her master as all this unfolded. 

Leia put her hand to her mouth and sighed deeply. Silence once again settled over the group.

“Years ago,” Leia began. “After Endor, but before the Battle of Jakku, when victory seemed all but assured for the Rebel Alliance, the Empire launched a desperate campaign to bring us down. It was called Operation Cinder.”

Many of the younger fighters gasped. They remembered the story. From their history books, their academy training, and in Finn’s case, from his Stormtrooper conditioning. The only one who seemed to not know the story was Rey.

“What’s Operation Cinder?”

“Imperial Star Destroyers and TIE fighters assembled over worlds of strategic or sentimental value to Alliance leadership, or worlds that were densely populated. They attacked,” Finn said, shaking his head with second-hand shame. 

“Entire cities, entire civilizations, completely wiped out of existence. Few were lucky enough to survive,” Rose added.

“What does this have to do with Palpatine?” Poe asked Leia. “He was dead by then.”

“The horrors of Cinder are well known throughout the galaxy. Less well known is the fact that the attack itself was ordered by a group of messenger droids bearing Palpatine’s likeness. Some were programmed to only deliver that one message, but others were capable of so much more.” 

“More?” Connix asked, horrified.

“Near-sentience. He might have somehow used the droids to cheat death.”

“I think it’s worth finding out!” Finn exclaimed.

“What did the rest of the message say, Poe?” Rose asked. 

“It said his followers have been amassing a fleet since the Empire fell, and that the attacks will begin in sixteen hours. The Emperor, his followers, and his fleet have been hiding in the oldest standing Jedi temple.”

Rose consulted her datapad. 

“There’s no record for where that could be.” she said, shaking her head. “At least, not in the information we have.”

Finn sighed, and slumped back against a tree. Rey, however, let out a little gasp and slipped off the stump where she had been sitting. 

***

In the absence of concrete information to work from, the group fell back to their other tasks. Some returned to ship maintenance, or other urgent matters. Connix and Rose gathered those who were not busy and put them to work combing through all the information they had hoping desperately to find a lead. 

Rey caught up to Leia, one of Luke’s old books clutched in her hand.

“General! Can I speak with you? I know how to find the Sith temple.”

“You do?” Leia asked, turning around. She took the book from Rey’s hand and peered at the open page. “Oh, you do!”

“Luke searched for it. Actually, he nearly found it. He said to get there you need something called a Sith Wayfinder. They’re compasses designed to lead the way to the ancient Sith Temple.”

“Rey…”

“I want to go. Find the Wayfinder. Find the Emperor. Stop him from tearing the galaxy apart again. I don’t know if it will work, but it’s worth a try.”

“I know you’re ready. I just…I hate the idea of losing more people I care about,” Leia sighed.

The unspoken names hung in the air between them. Luke. Han.  _ Ben. _ Though the older men were gone, and Leia was making her peace with it, she was still kept awake at night by the idea that her son would never find his way back to the light. Back to her. 

At that moment, Finn and Poe snuck up on either side of Rey, each throwing an arm around her shoulders. 

“Don’t worry, General!” Finn said. “We’re going with her.”

“Finn, it’s too dangerous!” Rey protested. “I’m going alone!”

“Yeah. Alone with friends!”

“Besides,” Poe added. “I’m not letting you take off with my droid unsupervised. I actually want him back in one piece.”

Though the words sounded like a reprimand, Poe was smiling. 

“I…” Rey began. Then she smiled and shrugged. Finn and Poe nodded, satisfied at her answer.

“Alright Chewie, are we good to go? Up and running?” Poe called out as the two men headed for the Falcon. 

“Rey,” Leia said, grabbing the younger woman’s arm. “We’ll talk more when you get back.”

The two women embraced.

Rey returned to her workstation and packed what few belongings she thought she would need. She had long since stowed a bag of clothing on board the Falcon, as had everyone else who flew in it regularly. But the necessary texts went into her bag, along with two precious items: the lightsaber she had been using - the Skywalker saber, the one that had called to her at Maz Kanata’s castle what felt like a lifetime ago - and the lightsaber hilt she’d build herself, out of parts from her old staff. She liked how it felt. It was comfortable, familiar, and most importantly personal. But the lack of a kyber crystal meant it was currently nothing more than a slightly worn looking tube. She knew it wouldn’t come in handy, but she didn’t feel right leaving it behind either. She closed her bag and boarded the Falcon to settle in.

***

“Rose!” Finn called, pointing back at the Falcon. “Last chance!”

Rose shook her head.

“The General asked me to stay and study the specs of old Destroyers, so we can stop the fleet if you find it,” she said sadly.

Finn looked like he wanted to protest, but just then Connix joined them.

“Rose, you go, I got this!” she said with a smile. 

“Are you sure?” Rose asked.

“Oh yeah!” Connix replied without a trace of irony. “I really like spending time with General Organa. This will be great!” With that, Connix waved, and retreated back into the crowd.

“Fine,” replied Rose, looking at Finn. “On one condition. That  _ you _ tell Poe what you told me after we broke up.”

“I need to tell Rey first. She’ll know what to do.”

“That’s fine. But I think we both know why it’s different with Poe.”

Rose handed him a box of equipment, then picked up the last of her gear before boarding the Falcon. Finn remained in place for a moment. Everything was starting to feel like too much too fast.

Just behind the boarding ramp, two droids stood alone. 

“In the event I do not return…I want you to know, R2…that you’ve been my best friend.” C-3P0 said to the smaller droid. 

R2 whistled that he returned the sentiment.

“Oh my. I believe I’m getting quite worked up.”

“Threepio let’s go!” Poe called from inside the Falcon.

“Well…farewell, my friend...” C-3P0 sighed, before slowly making his way towards the front of the ramp. 

***

On board the First Order flagship, Kylo Ren prepared to meet with his senior officers. As Supreme Leader, he was expected to be cool and detached at all times. Quiet. Powerful. Terrifying. Usually he succeeded at this. Subordinates refused to look at him as he passed, his orders were obeyed instantly, his domain was a well-oiled machine. If only he could find the same peace within. He was rattled by what the Emperor had told him about the scavenger. 

_ Though,  _ he thought,  _ I guess she’s not just a scavenger after all. _

He knew he had to discuss his findings with First Order leadership sooner rather than later. Data packets could only cover so much. But he needed a moment to collect his thoughts. After barking at his knights to assemble the officers in the largest conference room, he retreated into his quarters. 

The antechamber was dark and sparsely decorated, much like every other room on board. Though some chose to customize their spaces with personal effects, Kylo’s rooms were nearly identical to the way they’d been when he first began to occupy them. Save a few changes of clothing, the only truly personal item he kept with him was the helmet. Not the old helmet he’d fashioned in an attempt to feel closer to his grandfather Vader. That one had been lost on board Snoke’s ship when the Resistance had flown a ship straight through it at lightspeed. 

No, the helmet he had with him was that of Vader himself, the one he’d used for years as a focus for his meditation, as a way to hear his grandfather’s voice and seek his guidance. Though now, he supposed, that had all been a lie. It had never really been Vader speaking to him. 

Still. It was worth a try. 

He approached the podium where the helmet sat. He placed one hand on the burnt and twisted dome and shut his eyes.

_ Grandfather _ , he thought.  _ Lord Vader. Speak to me. _

He stayed in this position for a moment, and was disappointed, but not surprised to find that no one spoke back. But as he opened his eyes, he noticed an eerie bluish-white glow at the edge of his vision.

_ Not this again _ .

He whirled around and found himself staring at the ghostly silhouette of his uncle Luke. 

Ever since the Battle of Crait, Kylo had been cursed with frequent ghostly visits from his former Jedi master. Luke hardly ever said anything. He just  _ stood there _ . Staring. The first time, he’d tried to have an actual conversation with his nephew. He’d offered him  _ help,  _ as though there was still any hope left for the soul of Kylo Ren. That had gone remarkably poorly. Kylo had nearly blacked out with rage as the anger coursed through him. He couldn’t even remember what he’d said, but it was enough to deter Luke from speaking again. These visits also always seemed to occur in times of personal crisis, as though Luke could sense his nephew’s distress. 

“What?” Kylo spat at the ghost. “What do you WANT?”

Infuriatingly, the ghost said nothing. Kylo spun on his heel and stalked to his workstation to retrieve some data cards. As he turned to leave, he stopped short at the sight of his uncle standing before him once more. He scoffed and ignited his lightsaber. He could feel tears of rage building at the back of his eyes.

“You couldn’t save me then. What good are you to me now?”

On the last word, he threw the glowing saber towards Luke. It passed right through him and slammed into a console, sending sparks flying and leaving scorch marks on the floor. Some landed on Kylo, leaving tiny burns on his face and sleeves. 

Luke looked at him, his expression full of pity, then shook his head sadly and disappeared. It had been the same at the temple. Whenever a student had felt sadness, or anger, Luke’s solution was to stand there and let the student rage at him, to unburden themselves. It was something Kylo had done many times, when Palpatine’s influence became more than he could bear. Not that he knew what was going on at the time. 

Now alone in his chambers once more, Kylo retrieved his still-humming saber, switched it off, and swept into the corridor.

***

Though they were assembled in the largest conference room, only six of the seats around the table were occupied. Armitage Hux sat in the middle seat on his side, his back ramrod straight and his face like stone, betraying no emotion. 

He hated being in here, in rooms like this. It was places like this where his father would summon him, demand of his some unreasonable, impossible task, then shame him when he failed to comply. And Brendol Hux was not a subtle man. Any and all of these incidents took place in front of an audience of no less than ten people. No, Armitage far preferred to be on the bridge. He knew his place on the bridge. There, he was the man doling out tasks and handing out punishment for those who could not comply. He knew some called him cruel when they thought he could not hear, but those people had not had Brendol Hux for a father. They didn’t know what cruelty was. 

Across from him sat Allegiant General Nash Windrunner, a man in his mid-50’s whose face was marked by lines borne of grief and anger. Windrunner had hailed from Alderaan, but after the treachery of Princess Leia caused the destruction of his homeworld, he claimed the Empire as his new home, embraced the Imperial ways and swore to bring an end to the traitors who had taken everything from him. Some called him a zealot, others praised his determination. Hux, however, wasn’t sure what to make of him. He was one of the last remaining ties to old Imperial leadership. But then again, it was on Windrunner’s watch that the Empire had fallen to the New Republic. Those days after the Battle of Jakku were nothing short of chaos. After Ren had killed Snoke to assume his place at the top - Hux  _ hardly _ believed the story that the scavenger had managed it alone - all of Hux’s hard work to be named successor had essentially flown out of the airlock. It no longer mattered that he alone had come up with and implemented the design for Starkiller Base. It no longer mattered that it was he who had functionally trained an entire generation of stormtroopers. Because now it was Ren they called the Supreme Leader. And it was now on Supreme Leader Ren’s watch that a former agent of Imperial chaos was being brought onboard to advise in matters going forward.

Hux hated chaos. 

The door hissed and slid open. Ren’s guards, his  _ knights _ as he called them, strode into the room and assumed their places against the walls. The last man to enter the room was the Supreme Leader himself. His face was flushed and he looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks. Hux almost wished he still wore the mask. If this was the kind of face the Supreme Leader was showing the galaxy, better that they don’t see it at all. Ren marched to the head of the table and nodded to his knights. One of them stepped forward and flung a heavy squishy something onto the table. 

It was a head. One belonging to an alien named Boolio. 

Hux suppressed the urge to gag. A blaster through the heart was such an effective way to kill people. Beheadings with a blade were so…messy.

“We have a spy in our ranks. They just sent a message to the Resistance. But that won’t stop us. With what I’ve seen on Coruscant, the First Order is about to become a true Empire.”

At that, Hux looked up from his lap and directly at the Supreme Leader. His voice, though mostly calm, wavered with just barely perceptible emotion, and really, that combined with the unkempt image was so-

“I sense unease about my appearance, General Hux.” Ren said, locking eyes with Hux.

“No sir. It’s good for the galaxy to look upon the true face of its leader. Well done.”

Hux resumed staring at his lap. A couple of people around the table offered half-hearted compliments for the Supreme Leaders appearance.

“Forgive me, sir,” General Domaric Quinn said, once the bootlicking had subsided. “These new allies on Coruscant sound like cultists. Conjurers. Soothsayers.”

“They’ve conjured legions of Star Destroyers,” spat Windrunner. “This fleet will increase our resources a thousand fold, and in so doing will bring entire systems under our control. Without the dramatics of Starkiller Base.”

At this he shot Hux a dirty look, but Hux didn’t give it a second thought. Windrunner could call him dramatic if he liked. At least he had  _ done _ something, had tried to restore order to the chaos the New Republic had sown throughout the Galaxy. It was more than Windrunner could say, and the man’s career was older than Hux himself!

“In that case, we’ll need to increase recruitment. Harvest more of the galaxy’s young.”

Hux hardly registered who had spoken. At those words he felt a chill wash over him. The same familiar fear his father’s name had once provoked in him. Yes, he had been the one to train the new recruits once they had been brought over from their families - some very reluctantly - but he had done so out of a desire to please his father. The more praise Brendol gave him, the crueler Armitage became. It had been so long since he’d actually overseen training, but if the First Order was going to start actively recruiting again, he knew he would be pulled back into that role. And he could not bear the thought.

A choking sound snapped Hux out of his reverie. Quinn had clearly said something to upset the Supreme Leader, since he now hovered slightly out of his chair, fingers clawing at an invisible obstruction over his windpipe. And sure enough, Ren had a hand outstretched and curled into a claw. Hux was no stranger to the power Ren wielded - Supreme Leader Snoke had used it on him often enough - but it still made him deeply uncomfortable.

Ren relaxed his hand and Quinn fell to the table, his head inches from Boolio’s. 

“Prepare to crush any who defy us. My knights and I are going hunting for the scavenger,” Ren snapped before departing as abruptly as he’d arrived.

Not this again. The damn scavenger.

***

As the Millennium Falcon touched down on the desert world of Pasana, Rey peered out the window and thought it looked an awful lot like Jakku. The sand, the rocky outcroppings, and though she couldn’t feel it, she was willing to bet the heat was overwhelming. 

Another desert world. You’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. 

She led the way down the ramp and very quickly realized it wasn’t very much like Jakku after all. Yes, the sand and rocks were the same, but the heat was tolerable, the air was tinged with spices, and she could just make out the faint sounds of cheering and music. 

“I say we head towards the sounds, and go from there?” Finn suggested. Everyone nodded in agreement, and they set off.

The music had been getting louder and louder as they walked. When they finally rounded the corner of a large rock formation, the source was suddenly in full view. 

A massive crowd of beings filled the valley. A large number performed a dance in unison close to where the musicians played. Some threw colourful powders and lit sparklers. Others merely walked among the crowd and socialized.

“What is this?” Poe asked in wonder.

“They are the Aki-Aki, and this is the Festival of the Ancestors,” Rose supplied. “It only occurs once every 40 years or so.”

“We’ve got good timing”, Finn observed.

“Indeed!” Threepio piped up. “This festival is known both for its colourful kites and it’s delectable sweets!”

Ah, sweets. So that’s what Rey had been smelling. While everyone else looked mildly tense, Rey couldn’t help looking around in wonder. In the year since she’d left Jakku, she’d followed the Resistance movement wherever she was needed, and usually that meant remote wilderness on the edge of wildspace. The closest she’d come to something different were the few weeks she spent on Batuu, where she snuck into the local outpost as much as possible. But even that had been fairly remote. Rey didn’t think she’d ever seen this many beings in one place before. They passed directly by the dancing throng and Rey was half tempted to join them. 

“I’ve never seen anything like this!” she exclaimed.

“I’ve never seen anything less likely to show us where the wayfinder is,” Finn muttered.

“There’s always random First Order patrols in crowds like this, so keep your heads down. That means you, Chewie,” Poe said.

Finn and Poe’s tension was enough to refocus Rey, though she still wanted a better look at the festival.

“Let’s split up?” she suggested. “See what the locals know?”

The group considered for a moment, then agreed. Finn and Poe took off together, Rose and Chewie teamed up, leaving Rey with Threepio. 

They passed a small tent where a male Aki-Aki was telling a story to a group of enthralled youngsters. Whatever the story was must have been very amusing, because as Rey passed, the children all burst into peals of laughter. She smiled at them, though her heart was tinged with sadness.

_ I never got to have that _ , she thought, watching them.  _ I never had the chance to just be a kid _ . 

Old memories bubbled to the surface now. A little girl on a desert planet much like this one. A ship flying away. The little girl being dragged off by her cruel new guardian, reaching out a hand, hoping the occupants of the ship would come back to her.

Rey felt a small tap at her knee. She shook her head to clear it and looked down into the eyes of a young Aki-Aki child. She knelt down to meet the child at eye level, and as she did, the little girl spoke to her in her language.

“She is saying, ‘Welcome’!” Threepio translated. 

“Thank you!” Rey replied, looking at the girl rather than at Threepio. The Aki-Aki child put a beaded necklace around Rey’s neck. 

“She says her name is Nambi Ghima.” Threepio said.

“I’m very pleased to meet you. I’m Rey,” she told the girl.

The Aki-Aki child spoke again, and gestured to the small group behind her: two adult Aki-Aki, and two more children.

“She is saying that she has come to the festival with her family, and would like to know if you have done the same.”

Rey took the small girl’s hand and smiled at her kindly.

“I haven’t got a family, but I’m here with my friends.”

After expressing a wish that Rey enjoy the rest of her stay, Nambi Ghima ran off to join her family. Rey felt another pang, for yet another experience she would never have. 

She’d thought knowing the truth about her parents would bring her a measure of peace, and in a way it had. For a few months, she had been content with the narrative that they’d sold her off and resigned themselves to a paupers grave elsewhere on Jakku. Well, she hadn’t exactly been  _ content _ about their fate; they were her parents after all. But she’d been satisfied that there was no more to the story. After all, these were details she herself had recalled, only to have them confirmed to her by…him. But lately she’d begun to feel there was more to the story. Something deep in her memory, burrowed deep so as never to be remembered.

She stood up and brushed the sand from her legs. She looked around for Threepio and found something had changed. At first she thought she’d stood up too quickly. The world around her seemed to move slower than normal. It also looked darker than it should have been for this time of day. 

Then she felt it: that tug within her soul, like someone pulling on a tightly-wound string. The one she’d felt so many times on Ach-To. The one she hadn’t felt since Crait.  _ He _ was here.

“Rey.”

She whirled around and found herself staring directly into the face of Kylo Ren.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Your comments and kudos on the last chapter are sure making this first-timer feel really special
> 
> If you're liking it so far, let me know!


	3. Chase

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn reached out and took Poe’s wrist. Poe froze, not wanting to startle Finn and ruin the moment. 
> 
> “Sometimes I get the feeling you’re keeping a secret from me too,” Finn finished.
> 
> Finn let go of his wrist, but his hand lingered near Poe’s. 
> 
> “Do I want to know what made these tunnels?” Rose called out to no one in particular.
> 
> The sound of her voice broke the spell and the two men jumped apart, but Poe felt the ghost of Finn’s hand long after he had moved on down the tunnel. Now he was more confused than ever.

“Rey.”

The last time Rey had seen Kylo Ren was back on Crait, when she’d shut the ramp to the Falcon in his face. Not to say that connection they shared, whatever that was, had been severed. She’d felt it pull during moments of deep connection with the Force, in moments of anger, moments of soul-crushing distress, or, she supposed, whenever Kylo felt the same. There had been moments over the last year where she’d suddenly felt that string pull, for no discernible reason.

But whatever the reason for it now, their bond was strong as ever and Kylo Ren stood before her once again.

“What do you want?” she snapped.

“Palpatine wants you dead,” he said simply. 

“Serving another master?”

Rey could easily believe it. After what they had done, after killing Snoke together, she’d really thought that would bring Ben Solo back to the light. She knew how seductive the pull to the dark side could be, knew what it was like to hear it call for you, to feel its tendrils wrap around your heart. But she had resisted the temptation, both when she’d sensed it in the cave on Ach-To, and again when the path had been offered to her by Kylo. Admittedly that temptation had been the stronger one, but she refused it and chose to fight for the Resistance and the light. She supposed Kylo Ren wanted to stay firmly in the dark at any cost, though frankly she’d expected more from the son of the strongest woman she knew.

“No, but our plans align for now,” he replied. “I offered you my hand once. You wanted to take it. Why didn’t you?”

His words cut deep. She hadn’t realized her feelings showed so plainly on her face. 

“You could have killed me. Why didn’t you?”

“I could have. But I didn’t want to.”

Despite his detached tone, his face and his voice betrayed the same softness and vulnerability she’d come to know when their bond first connected them. It was then she realized what she felt was less outright anger and more anger mixed with heartbreak. What a fighter, what a Jedi, what a  _ friend _ this man could have been by now, if only he’d taken her hand that day on Snoke’s ship. Though her thoughts had occasionally slipped to an idea beyond mere friendship, she always suppressed it. Both for fear that Kylo could somehow channel her thoughts to seek out the Resistance, and fear of how strong her feelings really were. 

She couldn’t go down this road. What was it Luke had said? Give herself over to the dark side for a pair of pretty eyes? 

She looked into those eyes now and saw a sea of conflicting feelings churning in their depths. 

“I see through the cracks in the mask you think you wear. You’re haunted. You can’t stop seeing what you did to your family,” she said.

“Do you still count the days since yours left you behind?” he retorted. “Such pain, such anger. That’s good, you can use it. I’m going to find you and turn you to the dark side.”

“That’s what you said then, Kylo,” she said, pronouncing his name with derision. “I’m stronger than you think.”

“Rey, I’ve seen it. When I offer you my hand again…you’ll take it.”

Rey could feel tears threatening to spill over.

“We’ll see,” she snapped.

Kylo reached out suddenly and latched on to the necklace she wore. It snapped off in his hand. Then he, and the necklace, disappeared entirely as Rey’s surroundings returned to normal.

Rey stood stunned, her hand lingering where his had been only moments before. The noise of the crowd shaking her back into action. Time was now of the essence.

“Let’s go Threepio!” she said, scanning the crowd for a sign of her friends. They couldn’t have gone far, they had only spilt up a few minutes ago and they were meant to be talking to the locals anyway, which would slow them down.

_ There _ .

Above the crowd she could just make out a shaggy head. Chewbacca made their group more noticeable wherever they went. Normally, when they were on the run, this turned out to be a problem. Today however, it was a blessing. Rey bolted in the Wookie’s direction, while Threepio shuffled behind her, calling for her to wait and not let him get lost in the dancing crowd.

She reached Chewbacca and was relieved to see that the rest of the group was standing with him. Threepio caught up to her moments later. The old droid moved fast when he wanted to.

“We have to go,” she said, panting.

“What? Why?” Rose asked.

“The First Order knows where we are. They’re coming.”

“They could be on us in minutes; we’ve already had to dodge a patrol,” Finn said, trying not to let panic creep into his voice.

“Back to the Falcon. Now!” Poe ordered.

The group headed back in the direction they came, but found their path blocked by a tall figure in a mask, brandishing a rather large weapon.

***

Kylo Ren stood in the hallway of the destroyer, alone once more. He gazed down at his gloved palm, astonished to find a broken beaded necklace lying there. 

He hadn’t seen Rey in over a year, since the day she’d slammed the ramp to his father’s…to Han Solo’s ship in his face. But that moment had been a brief one. The last time they’d truly connected through the Force had been that night she was on Ach-To, when she had faced her demons in that cave haunted by the dark side.

_ You’re not alone _ , he’d told her.  _ Neither are you _ , she’d replied. She had then reached out her hand as if to touch his, and he’d matched her movements. For the briefest moment he’d thought he could feel her hand brushing lightly against his, then his uncle had walked in and ruined everything. The standard for anyone who trained under Luke, it seemed. Kylo had spent a year haunted by the idea that they could, in theory, make physical contact through the bond. So when he’d finally been able to see Rey again, he reached out to grab the first thing he could without hurting her. And that had been this necklace. 

A few of the beads had fallen on the floor. He picked them up and pocketed them, relieved there was no one around to see him do so. 

Kylo marched onto the bridge and slapped the necklace into Hux’s hand. 

“Have this analyzed. I want to know where it’s from,” he snapped, turning and leaving again without another word.

Once back in his quarters, Kylo reached into his pocket and took out the handful of beads he’d scooped off the floor. He peered at them closely. They were crude and wooden, some were painted bright colours. He mindlessly ran his thumb over them.

“I didn’t take you for the sentimental type,” a voice said suddenly.

Kylo roughly shoved the beads back into his pocket and looked up into the ghostly eyes of his uncle. 

“I didn’t realize the afterlife was so boring you had no choice but to haunt me,” Kylo replied.

“Oh Ben. You’re a lot of things. Boring isn’t one of them.”

“What do you want?” Kylo spat, sick of this conversation already. 

“You know what I-”

A beeping sound from the door cut Luke off. At the interruption, Luke shrugged.

“Some other time,” he said, disappearing as quickly as he’d appeared.

Kylo pressed a button and the door slid open. 

“Supreme Leader,” said Hux, crossing the threshold. “We analyzed the artifact. It comes from the Midian System, the Forbidden Valley on Pasaana.”

“Prepare my ship and alert local troops,” Kylo ordered.

“Right away, sir.” Hux paused and looked around the room. “Were you speaking to someone, Supreme Leader?”

“NOW, General Hux,” Kylo snapped.

“Your ship. Pasaana. Immediately, sir.”

***

Far away on Ajan Kloss, a computer terminal lit up.

“General!” Lieutenant Connix called. 

“What is it, Kaydel?” Leia asked.

“You wanted to be alerted anytime our First Order informant mentioned Supreme Leader Kylo Ren.”

Leia steeled herself. This had been a rather brilliant idea, if she did say so herself. She tasked her communications officers with keeping tabs on Kylo Ren, ostensibly for information that could help them. But more than anything, it was a way for her to check in on her son.

“Tell me,” Leia said.

“The spy says he’s heading for Pasaana too.”

***

The masked man kept his large blaster pointed at the group for a moment. Then he surprised them all by lowering it and speaking in a hushed tone.

“Follow me. Hurry! Leia sent me a transmission.”

“Leia?” Rose mouthed to Finn. He shrugged and followed the mysterious man. This didn’t seem particularly safe, but then again, Finn was used to putting his trust in strangers by now. After all, if he hadn’t trusted Poe, he would still be on board that First Order ship, encased in white armour, fighting for a cause he didn’t believe in. 

The man led them to a midsized hut and ushered them all in. He brought up the rear then closed the curtain behind him.

“So, Leia sent you?” Finn asked. “How did you know where to find us?”

“Wookies stand out in a crowd.” the man said with a laugh, removing his helmet. Chewie roared in excitement and with sudden realization. He grabbed the man in a big Wookie hug.

“Good to see you too, old buddy!” the man said, hugging Chewie back.

“Everyone,” Threepio began. “This is-“

“General Calrissian?” Poe asked, the man’s identity becoming clear to him too.

“Poe Dameron!” Calrissian said. “I haven’t seen you since you were a boy!”

“Lando Calrissian?” Rose whispered. “The Rebel general?”

“I guess so,” Rey whispered back. 

“It’s an honour, General!” Finn said. He’d heard a lot about the old heroes of the Rebellion from Poe, whose parents had known and fought alongside them. Growing up in the glow of the New Republic, as the son of two heroes, Poe had met many of them over the years. Finn had always liked hearing about General Calrissian, the man who’d been caught in an impossible situation and sold out his friends, but then ultimately returned to rescue them and fight for the light because it was the right thing to do. Now the man was a well-respected general, a hero, and no one even remembered he’d once sided with the Empire. 

“General Calrissian,” Rey said, interrupting the little reunion. “We came here looking for a wayfinder, which we still don’t have.”

“That’s why Leia called me. I was with Luke when he came here tailing an old Jedi hunter, a being by the name of Ochi of Bestoon. He was supposed to have a clue leading to one of the two wayfinders.”

“But you never found him?” Rey asked.

“We tailed his ship halfway across the galaxy. By the time we caught up, his ship was abandoned. No clue, no wayfinder.”

“Is the ship still here?” Rey asked.

“If it is, it’s out past Lurch canyon,” Calrissian replied.

The sound of troops and engines hummed in the distance.

“Go!” Lando said. “There’s a six person cruiser out back. Might be a tight fit but…”

They filed out through the back door of the hut. Poe popped open the cover on the side and began fiddling with the wires. 

“How do you know how to do that?” Finn asked.

“Later. Let’s go!”

“Come with us,” Rey said to Lando. “Leia needs pilots.”

“My flying days are long gone. But give Leia my love.”

“You should give it to her yourself. Thank you, General.”

Rey followed Rose, Chewie, BB-8 and Threepio on board without a second thought, but Finn stopped and stared at Poe.

The two men climbed up, and Poe made short work of accelerating the vehicle as fast as it would go. 

Their transport raced through the valley, the wind kicking up sand. Rey wished more than ever that she still carried her headwrap and goggles with her, but settled for turning to face the back of the open-air vehicle. 

This was just as well, since she was right in time to see the stormtroopers that were newly on their tail. 

“We’ve spotted the fugitives,” said one of the troopers into his comlink. He then activated a jetpack and took directly off from the troop carrier. 

Rey drew her blaster.

“They fly now!” she called.

“They fly now?” Rose and Finn asked in equally horrified unison.

“They fly now!” Poe said, without actually looking back to see what everyone was talking about. 

Everyone but Poe and the droids drew their weapons and began firing at the increasing number of troopers on their tail. 

“Did we lose them?” Poe called after a few moments of very reckless piloting. 

“Looks like it!” Finn shouted back. 

“Wait, there’s a couple more on the starboard side!” Rose shouted.

Poe veered in the opposite direction, hoping to steer them away. 

This change in direction made Rey straighten up very suddenly. She could sense a very imminent physical threat.

“Poe, watch out for-“

But she was too late. The side of the vehicle clipped a low rock formation and went spinning. In the ensuing chaos, the entire group was tossed from the vehicle.

They landed on a field of pebbles that felt like a bed of hard black beans. Rey sat up, the little stones sifting beneath her. As she tried to get her bearings, the rest of the group did the same, all of them shifting to an upright position, unaware that the ground beneath them was sifting, pulling them in. 

“What is that?” Rose asked, pointing at a wrecked old vehicle resting crookedly on a rock formation. Rey peered closer. 

“That’s Ochi’s ship! I’ve seen it before…”

Fragments of memories came back to her again. She was a little girl on Jakku again, crying for her parents, her hand reaching out for their ship. Ochi’s ship hovering nearby. Ochi? Ochi had been there that day? Lost in the memory, she could hear faint voices calling her name.  _ Rey. Rey. _

“REY!”

Rey snapped out of her trance to see Rose, Finn, Poe, and Chewie and the droids struggling. The field of pebbles they’d landed on was shifting quicker and quicker, and they were being pulled down. BB-8 tried in vain to roll off of the field, but lacked sufficient traction. The rest struggled to keep their arms free, fruitlessly grabbing at the sand and pebbles around them.. 

“What the hell is happening?” Poe said frantically.

“Sinking fields!” Rey said, finally recognizing the ground for what it was. “Try and grab something!”

“Will this agony ever end?” moaned Threepio, helpful as always.

Rose let out a scream that was cut short as she was pulled under.

“Rose! No!” Rey cried.

“Rey!” Finn said desperately. “Rey, I never told you…”

“What? Finn!” Rey gasped, trying to reach for his arm. But she too slipped through the sand and disappeared.

***

“General Organa!” Lieutenant Connix called. “We’ve heard from our informant again. There was a raid at the Festival of the Ancestors, and the First Order are sending an additional two squadrons to track down ‘the rebels’.”

“This mission is everything. They cannot be caught. Any word from Rey?”

“No response from the  _ Falcon _ at all,” said Snap Wexley, who had come to assist Connix.

“Do you have to say it like that, Snap?” Leia asked.

“Like what?”

“Do me a favour. Be optimistic,” Leia said with a sigh.

Snap paused.

“I’m sure this is going to go fine. No problems at all,” he said finally, with absolutely no conviction in his voice.

Kaydel Ko Connix kicked him under the desk.

***

Poe hit the ground with a rather painful thud, landing on his shoulder. He sat up and spat sand and pebbles out of his mouth. His arm had been out at such an awkward angle when he fell. He was stupidly trying to grab for Finn, while Finn saw fit to spend what could have been his last moments confessing something to Rey. He’d just managed to make contact with Finn’s forearm when the sand pulled him under.

They had emerged in a large underground cavern. Very old, dusty, industrial lanterns lined the walls, providing a dim light. The tunnels themselves looked natural rather than built. Something that made Poe very, very nervous.

“Finn! Rey! Rose!” he called out. He was grateful to hear each of them moan or mumble in response.

“You didn’t say my name, sir, but I’m alright!” piped up Threepio. 

BB-8 rolled up to him, beeping. Poe reached out and placed a comforting hand on his droid. 

“Hey buddy,” he whispered.

“Everyone OK?” Rose asked, standing up. 

“I’m good,” Finn said, standing and brushing off his jacket, the same one Poe had given him before the attack on Starkiller Base.

The act had meant something to Poe, and Poe assumed it meant something to Finn too. Though maybe not, if he was spending his dying breath calling out for-

“Rey!” Finn said. “You alright?”

“What is this place?” Rey said by way of response.

“I don’t know,” Poe said. “I thought we were dead.”

“This could very well be the afterlife!” Threepio said with perhaps too much excitement. “I didn’t realize droids were permitted here as well!”

“This hurts too much to be the afterlife,” said Finn, massaging a sore spot on his back. “Which way out?”

“This way is a dead end,” Rose said, emerging from one of the tunnels. “Where’s Chewie?”

At the sound of his name, the Wookie roared from a little further down the tunnels.

“I believe he is this way!” Threepio said, leading the way. Rey ignited her lightsaber for better visibility.

“So, what was it?” Rey asked Finn.

“What?”

“What were you going to tell me? When we were sinking in the field.”

“Oh...” Finn said, embarrassed. “I’ll tell you later.”

Poe wasn’t sure why this made Rose smack Finn on the arm. 

“Later, like when Poe’s not here?” he asked, unable to help himself.

“Yeah, uh-huh” Finn said. At this, Rose took Rey’s arm and pulled her forward, closer to Threepio and away from the two men.

“We’re dying in quicksand and we’re all keeping secrets?” Poe hissed at Finn.

“It’s not like that,” Finn said, looking back at Poe.

“Really? It sure feels that way.”

“I’ll tell you, one day, but…”

Finn reached out and took Poe’s wrist. Poe froze, not wanting to startle Finn and ruin the moment. 

“Sometimes I get the feeling you’re keeping a secret from me too,” Finn finished.

Finn let go of his wrist, but his hand lingered near Poe’s. 

“Do I want to know what made these tunnels?” Rose called out to no one in particular.

The sound of her voice broke the spell and the two men jumped apart, but Poe felt the ghost of Finn’s hand long after he had moved on down the tunnel. Now he was more confused than ever.

“Judging by the size of the tunnel, I would say-“

Rose held up a hand. 

“I decided. I don’t want to know.”

“What’s that?” Rey asked, pointing at an oddly bumpy form ahead.

“A speeder, maybe?” Finn guessed.

“It is a speeder!” Poe exclaimed, rushing up for a closer look. “It’s really old, though.”

“So where’s the driver?” Rose asked quietly.

BB-8 beeped in response, visibly shocking Threepio to his core.

“Surely not dead BB-8! How could you say such a thing?”

“Is that a hex charm?” Rose asked, also approaching the vehicle and inspecting a metal fixture attached to the front.

“A what?” Finn asked.

“Hex charms were commonly used emblems of Sith loyalists, sir.” Threepio supplied.

“Sith!” Rey exclaimed. “Luke must have been able to sense it.”

“So Ochi was a Sith loyalist?” Finn wondered.

“Same thing happened to us, happened to him.” Poe said. “He must have been heading for his ship.”

“How did he get out?” Finn asked.

“He didn’t”, Rose said, wrinkling her nose.

Chewie groaned and turned away from the spot Rose was staring at. There, there lay a decomposed body, its clothes turned to rags. The body clutched a bag closely, not letting go even in death. 

“Bones...” Poe said weakly. “I don’t like bones.”

“Me neither, they’re-“ Finn started to say, before seeing Rey hurry forward. “Rey what are you doing!”

Rey gently pried the bag out of Ochi’s hands. The bag had a surprising heft to it. She reached a hand in and pulled out a dagger. It was large, gold, and engraved. She ran her hand along the engraving on one side, before turning it over and inspecting the other side in a similar way.

“This is definitely a Sith artifact.” she said finally. Rose held out a hand for the dagger.

“There’s writing on it. Can you read it?” Rose asked. Rey shook her head.

“Perhaps I can be of some assistance!” Threepio exclaimed. He glanced at the dagger for only a moment before straightening up. 

“The location of the wayfinder! It’s been inscribed on this dagger! How wonderful!”

“That’s great!” Finn exclaimed. “Where is it?”

“Oh, I’m afraid I cannot tell you!” Threepio replied far too cheerfully.

“20 fazillion languages, you can’t read that?” Poe asked, frustrated.

“Of course I can read it sir!” Threepio said indignantly. “Unfortunately, my programming prohibits me from translating from the runic language of the Sith.”

“That’s great!” Finn said, throwing his arms up. “We’re holding the clue, we have a translator, and we still hit a dead end.”

Rey took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and reached a hand out towards Threepio. She stayed in that position for a few moments, everyone else too nervous to speak. Everyone, that is, except for Threepio.

“Oh Mistress Rey, I’m afraid Jedi technique has no effect on the mind of a droid.”

Rey dropped her arm and rolled her eyes. She shrugged at the others.

“It was worth a try.”

“The one time we need him to talk!” Finn said. 

BB-8 began rolling back and forth on the spot, beeping frantically. 

“What is it buddy?” Poe asked, crouching down. He followed the direction of BB-8’s sightline and found himself staring into the eyes of a giant serpent.

***

Allegiant General Nash Windrunner stood on the bridge of the Star Destroyer, Hux standing slightly behind him. They had received communication from the Supreme Leader, who had taken his knights down to the surface of Pasaana. 

“Have you located them, Allegiant General?” Ren said. 

“Yes, Supreme Leader.”

“Transmit the coordinates to me now. And send an additional transport down to that location. Pilot only. Tell them they are to await my instructions.”

“Yes, sir.”

The transmission ended there. After a moment, Hux spoke.

“An additional transport? Allegiant General, we cannot stand around while Ren wastes time on games and nonsense.”

Windrunner whirled around to face the younger man. Hux flinched, half expecting to be dropped to the floor in some painful and humiliating way. 

“I’m not sure what the procedure was aboard your other ships, General Hux, but I will not tolerate insubordination and disrespect for the Supreme Leader while I am in command.”

The older man strode away, barking orders for the officers to send down the requested transport.

Hux stood fixed to the spot, seething. 

***

The energy in the cave had noticeably changed. Panic and fear filled the space so completely, Rey was surprised that it wasn’t visible to the naked eye. Yet another side effect of opening herself up to the Force: it quite literally surrounded her. It revealed itself to her. And at the moment, it distracted her when she should have been focused on the giant, angry-sounding serpent not ten paces in front of her friends.

“Nobody move,” Rose whispered. 

“I’m gonna blast it,” Poe said.

“Please don’t blast it,” Finn said wearily. 

But Rey could sense their fear was mounting. Hers was too. Fear, and a fresh wave of anger. For every one step forward, they took five steps back. This looked like it might be the final step on their journey. Between everyone’s paralyzing fear, and Poe’s tendency to shoot first and maybe ask questions at some point in the future, it looked like they were going to die here.

Rey slipped into a slight meditation, hoping to at least calm her own nerves. As she meditated, she became aware of her friends as well, of their own fears. She reached out and attempted to calm them as she had herself. It must have worked, because the aura of fear in the cave began to dissipate. As it did, Rey suddenly became aware of a new feeling.

_ Pain _ .

“I sense pain,” Rey said, quietly. “Was anyone injured when we fell in?”

“Just my pride,” Finn said, while Rose shook her head no. 

“I landed on my shoulder,” Poe replied.

“No, that’s not it.”

“I did though,” Poe muttered.

Rey focused and reached out again. The pain was still there, angry, raw, deadly. 

The serpent shifted slightly. Everyone tensed again. Finn and Poe both reached for their blasters. Then Rey saw it: the festering wound in its side.

She made her decision immediately. She held her hands up and slowly walked towards the serpent. 

“Rey, don’t!” Finn hissed.

Rey could barely hear him. As she got closer, she tried to send waves of calm towards the creature. It must have worked, because all it did was watch her warily. She got as close to the wound as she was able, then set her hands on the serpent’s body. 

_ I hope this works,  _ she thought desperately. The older texts she had taken from Ach-To mentioned this practice, the ability to heal injury using one’s own Force energy. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and visualized pulling at strands of the Force from inside herself and pushing them out into the serpent. Rose gasped loudly, and Rey opened her eyes. 

The wound was healing, as though it was stitching itself up. The infected redness faded to nothing.

Rey removed her hands and sat down suddenly. That had taken more out of her than she realized. After a moment, the serpent turned and slithered away down a tunnel.

“What was that?” Rose asked, finally.

“I transferred a bit of Force energy. A bit of life. It’s an ancient practice, hadn’t been taught to the Jedi for generations.”

“No kidding,” Finn said, helping her stand up. “Do that too much and it might kill you.”

“I think I see light up ahead!” Poe called from further up the tunnel. 

They followed Poe down a passage that got narrower and narrower. Chewie was very vocal about his increasing claustrophobia. At long last, they emerged back onto the surface of the planet.

“Look! We’re not too far from Ochi’s ship!”

“Shouldn’t we head back to the Falcon?” Rose asked.

“They’ll be expecting that,” Poe said. “We’ll never make it out alive!”

The group rushed for Ochi’s ship, Chewie bringing up the rear to make sure the droids made it out alright. 

Rey stopped. She could hear a faint sound in the distance. As it grew louder, she recognized it as the unearthly, haunting scream of a TIE fighter. 

“Keep going, get the ship running. I’m right behind you,” Rey said. 

She leapt down from the rocks where the ship sat and ran out into the open space of the valley. On the horizon, she saw a small black dot that grew larger and larger by the second. 

*******

Kylo Ren pushed his TIE fighter to its limit. He could barely hear the scream of the engines anymore. All his attention was on finding the scavenger and putting the next phase of his plan into motion. The Knights of Ren stood nearby, he knew, their transport ready to take to the air at a moment’s notice. All they awaited was his word. 

“Go now,” he snapped into his comlink. 

He barrelled forward through the valley, his sights set on a small figure in pale gray, a figure that ran out directly into his path. 

He saw the figure ignite a blue lightsaber.  _ His grandfather’s saber. His legacy.  _ But the closer he got, the more determined the figure seemed to be. She remained fixed to the spot, eventually turning around, crouching and sprinting away from him. He was close enough that he could see Rey a little clearer, could make out her hair half streaming behind her. 

Kylo had every intention of veering at the last second; he wouldn’t dream of hurting her, not when he wanted her to join him instead. As he prepared to make the move, something inside him told him that wasn’t necessary. The voice, the feeling that spoke to him, seemed to come from the Light side of the Force, something he hadn’t experienced in years. Something that only seemed to return to him once he and Rey began their clandestine communications. 

It suddenly became very apparent why no action was needed on his part. Rey stopped running and instead flipped backwards over the wing of his TIE fighter, brandishing the lightsaber. He felt the ship tilt violently as it went spinning into a small rock formation.

_ Well, shit,  _ Kylo thought, as he braced for impact.

***

Rey landed on the sand, the momentum sliding her backwards a few paces. She couldn’t quite believe she’d pulled that off. She looked up just in time to see Kylo Ren’s TIE fighter - because she had no doubt who the pilot had been - crash into the rock formation ahead. The sound of shouting caught her attention. Finn stood near the ship waving his arms and yelling…something. 

“…wie… they…Chewie…”

Chewie? 

Rey spun around in time to see the Knights of Ren marching Chewie aboard a First Order transport. She had to get back to Ochi’s ship as quickly as possible. But then she saw a flicker of movement near the crash site. 

Kylo Ren was still alive. She’d never doubted it. The string that connected them still pulled as tight as ever. Once he was clear of the wreck and the flames, he stood a few meters away and watched her, as if waiting to see what she would do.

A mechanical hum told her that her friends had managed to restart Ochi’s ship, but the sound was so loud it was as though several vehicles were powering up at once.

An even louder roar sounded on Rey’s other side. The First Order transport that now housed Chewie was headed for the planet’s atmosphere.

Still, Kylo stood there and watched her curiously. 

“No!” Rey cried out. In desperation, she extended a hand towards the departing ship, hoping to call it back with the Force. There was something intensely familiar about all this, but in her current state, Rey couldn’t place it. She felt the energy around the vehicle, and willed it to push the transport, to push Chewie, back down to valley. A light sensation inside her told her she was succeeding. Encouraged, she kept up the pressure.

Then, she suddenly became aware of another, darker energy mingling with hers. Looking back down towards the planet surface, she saw Kylo Ren, his hand extended similarly. Only he was willing the Force to propel the vehicle up and away from Pasaana. 

The harder he pushed, the harder Rey pulled. The spiritual strain became a physical one as she screamed in frustration and rage. How dare he interfere like this. How dare he continue to strip away her friends and mentors one by one, leaving her alone yet again, on the surface of a hot dusty planet, just like her parents had-

She hit her boiling point, as she let out a feral scream of rage. Rey was stunned to feel all her anger funnel suddenly into her connection with the Force, like poison being poured into a freshwater spring. Lightning shot from her hand directly into the transport, which exploded into a million pieces overhead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! And thanks as always to my beta reader for her notes and most importantly her comments that make me laugh till I cry


	4. Cold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He hadn’t been alone long when he heard the door slide open. On the other side of the threshold stood a tall man who’d once been a boy Chewie knew very well.
> 
> The man now called Kylo Ren strode into the interrogation room and stood before Chewie, observing him. 
> 
> Chewbacca was struck by how much of Han and Leia he could see in the young man’s face. He fought not to let another wave of grief consume him. He didn’t only grieve for the way this family had been torn apart. He grieved for little Ben Solo, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I initially planned 1 chapter a week until I realized that's going to take us into...February or something, and I really wanted this completed before the TROS 1 year mark. 
> 
> So enjoy!

“CHEWIE!” Rey screamed, as the fragments of the transport rained down on the valley.

“Let’s go, Rey!” Rose yelled.

“They’re coming!” Poe said, in a panic. 

Rey stood there, in a daze. She felt like she’d been dropped into a cold, dark abyss and couldn’t find her way out. She’d _felt_ a life force extinguish the moment the ship exploded. She was barely aware of her friends calling out around her. 

“Rey! REY!” Finn shouted. Finally, his voice got through to her. She snapped out of the pit of shock long enough to sprint for the ship, leaving Kylo Ren in the dust.

The ramp slammed shut behind Rey. She threw her bag down the corridor, letting out a short scream of frustration. Her lightsaber let out a dull clang as it hit the ground, but Rey hardly noticed, nor did she much care. She felt the ship lurch. Poe lifted them out of the dust and heat of the valley before sending the ship rocketing towards the atmosphere. Rey threw herself onto a bench towards the back, and tried to calm down by taking deep breaths, as she did when she meditated. She was having no luck. She started to hyperventilate, and it wasn’t long before it turned into sobs.

Her tears only lasted a few minutes. She usually cried herself out fairly quickly. The side effect of a deeply unjust frustrating childhood. She wiped her eyes and blinked to see Finn standing in front of her, holding the bag she had discarded.

“I don’t know what happened,” Rey said after a moment. “Lost control.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Finn said, at once. He came and sat next to her.

“It was. I felt it.”

“It was Ren. He did it. He…I don’t know…he warped your powers or something.”

“No, Finn,” Rey said, turning to look him in the eye. “That power came from me.” 

She put her head in her hands again.

“I knew this was going to happen,” she said quietly.

“You knew that Chewie-?”

“No. I…I had a vision. Of the Sith Throne. And of who was on it.”

“Kylo Ren?” Finn asked. Rey nodded.

“And me...” she said after a moment. 

***

Allegiant General Windrunner stood on the bridge at parade rest. The sound of boots alerted him to the presence of another. He didn’t turn, but rather waited for the new party to speak first.

“Allegiant General,” a clipped voice said. “We’ve recovered the scavenger’s ship. Unfortunately she escaped.”

Windrunner finally turned to face Hux. He stared at the younger man, his face expressionless, and waited for him to get to the point. 

“A transport was destroyed, and we suffered several casualties in the pursuit of the rebels,” Hux concluded.

“As you’re no doubt aware, _General_ Hux,” Windrunner said, stressing the man’s lower rank. “I have already seen the report. If that’s all…”

“No, sir. A second transport brought back a valuable prisoner.”

This was news to Windrunner.

“Oh?” the older man asked.

“A Wookie. The beast used to fly with Han Solo. I’ve sent it to Interrogation Six.”

Windrunner nodded and resumed his position. The lack of sound behind him meant that Hux still had not left.

“If you have anything to add, General Hux, I suggest you do so quickly. My patience is wearing thin.”

“Sir, with respect, our losses would not have been nearly so severe had the mission not been subject to the whims and theatrics of the Supreme Leader and his knights.”

“What do you suggest General? And I caution you to choose your words carefully. Any slight against the Supreme Leader could be considered treasonous.”

“That’s just it, Allegiant General. I believe the Supreme Leader himself to be treasonous!”

“ _Keep your blasted voice down!_ ” Windrunner hissed. He couldn’t believe someone brought up in the First Order could be this careless and stupid.

“Ren expects us to believe the scavenger killed Supreme Leader Snoke.” Hux whispered. “The scavenger. A nothing girl from a nowhere world.”

“We cannot discuss this now.” Windrunner said. “Not here. Find me later.”

Still Hux remained where he was.

“ _Dismissed_ General Hux!” The older man snapped.

***

Aboard Ochi’s ship, the band of rebels sat around a table contemplating their next move. Threepio, trying to be helpful, had set out cups of water, but no one was touching them. Poe hated this feeling of hopelessness. He’d had it when he watched the First Order pick off their ships one by one last year. Had it on Crait. Had it while the struggling Resistance struggled to find pilots, fighters and leaders to join in their cause. And now, with only hours to go before an incomprehensibly large attack, he found himself feeling the lowest and most helpless he’d ever felt. 

“What do we do now?” Poe asked finally. 

“What else can we do?” Finn said. “We go back to base.”

“We can’t go back. We only have 8 hours left.” Rose said. 

“And if we do…if we give up…Chewie died for nothing,” Rey said, her voice barely above a whisper. 

“She’s right,” Finn said. 

“I know she’s right, but Chewie had the dagger!” Poe said, standing up in frustration. He hated being the one to shoot down every idea. But he didn’t want to give any of them false hope. And with every passing moment, he could feel the hope draining out of the room. 

As they looked around the table at each other, it struck Poe that with Chewie gone, he was now the oldest being onboard. And he was only 35. The crushing burden of responsibility had been weighing on him for some time now, and it was becoming unbearable. Was this any way for them to live? They were all so young. Too young to have the fate of the entire galaxy resting on their uncertain shoulders.

“So let’s find another way!” Rose said, snapping Poe out of his melancholy. “That dagger can’t be the only clue!”

C-3P0 let out a mechanical sigh.

“Alas. The inscription lives only in my memory now,” the droid said sadly.

“Hang on,” Poe said, striding up to Threepio. “The clue is logged in your memory?”

“Of course sir!” Threepio said, sounding affronted. “But short of a full memory bypass, the information is inaccessible!”

“A full memory bypass?” Finn asked. “Rose, can you…?”

Rose shook her head.

“I’m better with ships than droids. But maybe Rey can-”

But Rey was no longer in her seat. She was leaning against some crates on the other end of the common area, the conversation having become too much. Though Poe doubted Rey had the technical skills needed for the delicate procedure needed, he finally had a solution to one of their problems.

“I know a blackmarket droidsmith! Only problem is, he’s on Kijimi.”

“Why is that a problem?” Rose asked.

“I ran into a bit of trouble on Kijimi.” Poe said quickly. “It doesn’t matter. We have to go, because if we don’t then all of this was for nothing.”

“We’re in. Right?” Finn said, looking to the two women for confirmation.

“Absolutely!” Rose said. 

“For Chewie,” Rey said, nodding. But something seemed to have caught her attention behind the dusty crates. She crouched down to investigate. She reached out a hand and-

A little mechanical…something came whizzing out from behind the crate. It was a small droid with a cone-shaped head and a single large wheel. It beeped a greeting.

“He says his name is D-0” Threepio translated.

“Hi D-0!” Rey said, reaching for him. The droid wheeled backwards and away from her hand, whistling in alarm. 

“It appears he does not like to be touched!” Threepio said. Rey retracted her hand at once. 

“It’s ok,” she said soothingly. “You’re with us now.”

“Right. Ok.” Poe said, turning away from the little scene with the droid. “Kijimi!” 

And with that, he slid into the pilot chair and began plotting their course.

***

For the first time in a long time, Chewbacca was grateful to have his thick brown fur. First Order interrogation rooms were cold. The interrogation chair sat abandoned in the centre of the room, it being too small to contain him. Instead, his arms and legs had been chained to the wall offering very little range of motion. 

He hadn’t been alone long when he heard the door slide open. On the other side of the threshold stood a tall man who’d once been a boy Chewie knew very well.

The man now called Kylo Ren strode into the interrogation room and stood before Chewie, observing him. 

Chewbacca was struck by how much of Han and Leia he could see in the young man’s face. He fought not to let another wave of grief consume him. He didn’t only grieve for the way this family had been torn apart. He grieved for little Ben Solo, too. That sweet boy was gone, replaced with the tired, angry man he saw now. He’d been an excitable child who used to recruit Chewie as his copilot on many a fake Kessel Run, the sofa in Han and Leia’s Chandrila apartment serving as a plush, green Millennium Falcon. The memory of those adventures cheered Chewie. He held tight to them now. He had a feeling he’d need to, in order to withstand whatever suffering this Kylo Ren had in store for him. 

But to Chewie’s surprise, it was Kylo Ren who seemed to be suffering. He was staring at Chewie, a pained expression on his face. 

“Those memories won’t save you, Wookie,” he spat. “That little boy is gone. Tell me where Rey- where the rebels have gone.”

_Wookie?? There was a time you used to call me Uncle Chewie, you little-_

Chewbacca was hit with a realization. It seemed Kylo Ren was reading his mind. He could use this to his advantage. 

Chewie began to frantically recall as many childhood memories of Ben Solo as he could, lobbing them at him like mental thermal detonators. Birthdays, the odd family outing, games they used to play, quiet moments at home. With each new memory, Kylo Ren’s expression grew more strained, and Chewbacca’s heart broke even more. The boy must truly be gone if the memory of his first trip on board the Millennium Falcon - with Han and Chewie of course - caused him to flush angrily. 

“Stop it,” Kylo Ren bit out, raising a hand as if to subdue Chewie using the Force. 

So Chewbacca stopped. He slumped back and tried to clear his mind of any thoughts. Kylo Ren, visibly rattled, left as quickly as he’d come. Chewie decided then that if he did come back, he wouldn’t torment him any longer. 

_That’s not what good uncles do_ , he thought.

***

Stormtroopers patrolled the streets of Kijimi, stopping random citizens, asking for documentation, and arresting them whether or not they complied. The band of rebels thought they could use the darkness as cover, but none of them banked on the snow. 

“I am not an outside person,” Rose muttered, pulling her thick jacket tighter. Finn nodded sympathetically, but Rey could barely even manage that. Though she objectively knew there were worlds in the galaxy far colder than this, she was currently having a hard time imagining it. A lifetime in desert and tropical climates did not make for an easy adjustment to snow.

Poe peered momentarily around the wall, then ducked back to the huddled group. 

“OK, I know where we are, let’s go this way.”

“Please tell me we’re headed back to the ship, Sir” Threepio moaned. Poe stopped and turned back.

“Threepio, if I have to-WOAH”

Poe’s feet slid out from under him, and he landed on his back. Rey thought he’d slipped in the snow, until she saw a slim figure in a red and gold bodysuit advancing towards him, blaster pointed.

“Someone said they saw you near Monk’s Gate,” said the figure, her voice modulated through the mouthpiece of her large gold helmet. “Thought ‘nah, he’s not stupid enough to show his face around here.’”

“Guess I am that stupid,” Poe replied.

“Who is this?” Finn asked Poe. 

“Are you OK?” Rose asked, helping him up.

“Guys, meet Zorii. Zorii, this is Finn, Rose, Rey.” Poe spoke casually, as if they’d met by chance at a social function. But he kept his hands raised and his eye on Zorii’s blaster. 

“I should shoot you right now,” Zorii snapped. 

“You’re not still mad about-”

“I definitely said I’d shoot you if I saw you again.”

“Can we just talk about this?”

“Not really in the mood.”

“We need your help!” Poe said desperately. “We gotta crack the droid’s head open, and fast.”

“I _beg_ your pardon!” Threepio gasped.

“We need to get to Babu Frik,” Poe finished, ignoring Threepio.

“That’s funny,” Zorii said. “Babu only works for the crew. That’s not you anymore. You made sure of it.” 

She raised her blaster again.

“What crew?” Rey asked. Zorii let out a mirthless laugh.

“Oh, he never told you? Your friend here used to be a spice runner before he got cold feet and sold us out to the New Republic.”

“You what?” Finn exclaimed, as Rose and Rey exchanged a look. 

“I can explain.” Poe said, more to Finn than to anyone else.

“I don’t have time for that,” Zorii snapped. “I’m still trying to clean up the mess you made when you went crawling back home.”

Nobody moved as Zorii kept the blaster aimed at Poe. She looked at all of them before zeroing in on Rey.

“That’s her. The one they’re looking for!” Zorii said. Rose slid in front of Rey as if to hide her from view.

“Bounty for her might just get us through the next few years,” Zorii said. “HEY! OVER HERE!”

A lot of things happened quickly: Rey drew her saber and activated it, pointing it at Zorii. Poe moved out of the line of fire. Finn grabbed Zorii’s arms, sending her blaster skittering across the cobblestones. Rose scooped up the blaster and holstered it. 

“Zorii,” Rey as the other woman struggled against Finn’s grip. “Please. It’s important. We could really use you.”

“You’re not using some…Jedi trick on me, are you?” Zorii asked warily.

“I wouldn’t.”

Something in Rey’s tone must have resonated with Zorii, because she sighed and said: 

“Fine. I’ll take you to Babu.”

***

Hux hovered outside the door to Allegiant General Windrunner’s office. At last he would have the opportunity to set the record straight about Ren. To possibly even assume his place at the top and regain some degree of control over the quietly crumbling First Order. He rapped on the door.

“Enter,” called Windrunner from within.

Hux slipped into the office, where Windrunner sat behind an imposingly large desk. The door had barely shut behind him before he began to speak.

“Allegiant General. I believe that Supreme Leader Ren-”

“-is unfit to lead the First Order to victory. I agree.” Windrunner finished for him.

Hux was stunned. 

“I….he…uh…”

“Anything more substantial to add, Armitage?” Windrunner sneered.

The use of his first name threw Hux even more. He stopped trying to speak and stared at Windrunner.

“No, quite right. Kylo Ren is not fit to lead the First Order, nor do I feel he’s particularly equipped to bring about the resurgence of the Empire.”

“The Empire?” Hux exclaimed.

“Once Emperor Palpatine’s fleet has succeeded in wiping out what’s left of those radicals calling themselves the Resistance, I have no doubt the Empire will rise again. There was a time that little guerrilla army not only usurped power from Emperor Palpatine, but then had the gall to install the treacherous Princess Leia in their so-called Senate.” Winrunner scoffed. “Little wonder that experiment crumbled.”

“Leia?” Hux asked. “Leia Organa?”

Windrunner slammed a fist on his desk.

“That woman sold out Alderaan for the sake of her precious rebellion!” Windrunner roared. “She put us in the line of fire, so that when the Empire did what was necessary to curb the rebellion, citizens like me paid the price.”

Hux took a step away from Windrunner. The man was truly losing his grip. The Empire? Leia Organa? Alderaan? Rather than focus on the here and now, Nash Windrunner was living in conflicts of the past. Hux tried to steer the conversation back to their current problem.

“Indeed, Allegiant General.” Hux said diplomatically. “So regarding Ren…”

“Kylo Ren is no better. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if he were the spy. Treacherous, just like his mother,” Windrunner spat.

Hux’s eyes widened in relief. He’d been prepared to suggest the same, if the question of the spy kept cropping up. Now it seemed like he wouldn’t have to.

“Of course, Allegiant General. Not surprising in the least.”

“The Emperor has seen fit that he be removed from his role as Supreme Leader as soon as possible.”

Hux brightened at this.

“And his replacement?”

“Myself. Naturally.”

Hux felt the ground shift under his feet, and he was fairly confident this had nothing to do with the motion of the Star Destroyer.

“You? But I had thought-”

“What?” Windrunner sneered. “You?”

Hux drew himself up to his full height.

“Under Supreme Leader Snoke, I was second only to Ren. It’s only natural that I should take his place given-”

“Given…what, exactly? The failure of Starkiller Base? The loss of a Dreadnaught to Resistance bombers? Or perhaps your complete inability to eliminate a handful of pilots and one elderly woman on Crait despite your considerable weaponry advantage?”

With his most recent failures spelled out for him in such a manner, it was hard to protest. Hux himself probably would have disciplined a subordinate for such a track record. 

“No,” Windrunner continued. “I will take control of the First Order and with the Emperor’s guidance, restructure it into the Second Galactic Empire, and eliminate the Resistance threat once and for all.”

Hux couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Another Empire? All his grand ideas of order and forward momentum crumbled around him. Windrunner’s comlink chirped.

The office door slid open again. In strode Kylo Ren, his knights lurking in the hallway. 

“Report, General Windrunner.” He commanded. Windrunner shot to his feet.

“Yes, sir. The girl has been tracked to a settlement called Kijimi.”

“Set a course. General Hux, with me.”

“Supreme Leader,” Windrunner cut in. “I still require General-”

He stopped speaking as Kylo Ren whipped around, a menacing finger pointed directly in the older man’s face. Once Windrunner nodded, Kylo Ren stalked out of the room, Hux following in his wake. 

“I’m heading down to Kijimi.” Ren said to Hux. “I’m leaving you in charge of the Wookie, as well as any other prisoners we bring on board.”

“Yes, Supreme Leader.”

“Report to your station.”

Hux saluted and headed straight for his office. 

He locked the door, sat at his terminal, and composed a quick message.

_Kylo Ren to be deposed. Palpatine to name Nash Windrunner new Supreme Leader. First Order to be reshaped into Second Galactic Empire._

***

Across the galaxy on Ajan Kloss, Kaydel Ko Connix’s terminal lit up. 

“It’s our spy!” She called out. Leia hurried over and stood behind her as Connix read the message.

“Kylo Ren to be deposed…”

***

Zorii let them through a series of back alleys that Rose couldn’t find her way out of if she tried. She pulled her hood closer around her face when she saw the others do the same, but felt silly almost immediately afterwards. They were all wanted. High ranking members of the Resistance, the poster children for the movement. But who even knew what Rose looked like?

Finally, they stopped in front of an old wooden door. Zorii knocked out a quiet rhythm, waited a moment, then pushed the door open, indicating that the group should enter first. Directly beyond the door was a narrow staircase that led into a dark pit below. The walls were bare, but at the bottom of the staircase, some loose droid parts were just barely visible.

“Why, oh why did I agree to this?” Threepio wailed as Rose led him down the stairs. Once everyone had gone inside, Zorii shut the door behind them, then slid past everyone to lead the way.

“Babu’s back here,” she said, indicating a work bench on which sat an old deactivated droid. Sparks flew from behind it, and they could hear someone muttering to themselves in an unknown language.

“Babu!” Zorii called.

At the sound of her voice, a tiny, old, shrunken alien with a squished face and oversized goggles popped out from behind the droid.

Startled, Rose screamed.

Rey snapped into action, drawing her lightsaber. Before she had a chance to ignite it, the little alien called Babu Frik threw his tiny hands in the air.

“No. No. Babu friend. Friend!”

Zorii said something to Babu Frik in his own language. He nodded sagely, then indicated that Threepio should sit in the chair near his bench. He began tinkering with the back of the droid’s head. After a moment, he stopped and checked his work, then shook his head and started speaking to Zorii rapidly in the alien language again.

“Babu says he needs a few minutes to figure out what’s going on in the droid’s head.”

“I beg your pardon! My name is not ‘the droid’!” C-3PO burst out.

Every single being in the room looked ready to offer Threepio a few choice words about what happens to droids who talk too much, when the sounds of shouting and marching from outside became too loud to ignore.

“Night raids,” Zorii said. “I better keep a lookout.”

“Up on the roof?” Poe asked. “I’ll come too.”

“Uh, yeah! Me too!” Finn said.

Zorii turned her head to look at each of them. At least, that’s what Rose assumed she was doing. The woman still hadn’t removed her helmet.

“Yeah, OK.” Zorii said, finally. “You two head up, I’ll run a perimeter check then come find you.”

***

“So.” Finn ventured, after he and Poe had been standing on the rooftop for a couple of minutes. “Spice runner, huh?”

“Yep.” Poe replied, leaning forward to peer at the street below. “Don’t really wanna talk about it.”

“Poe Dameron: Runner of Spice.”

“Well, you clearly do, so. Let’s.” Poe turned and looked the younger man in the eye. “Ask away.”

“I…just…how? I thought you were a Rebellion brat. You know, hero parents, the Academy, recruited by Leia, all that.”

“No, that’s all true. But…” Poe sighed. “Things got bad. I lost my mom, and we were _really_ close. She taught me how to fly.” He pulled a chain out from under his shirt, on which was hanging a ring. “This is actually her wedding ring. Anyway. I thought I was going to be stuck at home forever, with a dad who was so attached to the idea of a memory, that he couldn’t see the living, breathing son right in front of him.”

“So you started running spice?”

“I ran away. Took up with a crew that said they needed a pilot to get them off world. I was a pretty good pilot, even then, so I took the job. That’s how I met Zorii.” Poe paused, fiddling with his mother’s ring. 

“It was exhilarating at first, you know? Doing something new, being away from home. But things got dark, really, _really_ quickly. I panicked. At the first opportunity, I called one of my dad’s old buddies from the Rebellion days. He put me in touch with a New Republic officer who showed up and arrested most of the crew, then took me back home.”

Finn was at a loss for words. 

“I didn’t know the ring was your mom’s.” he said, finally.

“Yeah. It’s the only thing I have of hers. Well, and her eyes, but I can’t see those, so…”

“Why didn’t you tell me any of this before?” Finn asked, stepping a little closer to Poe.

“There was never a good time. You remember a few months ago, we were with the pilots and the crew, where everyone confessed their failings to each other and it brought us closer as a team?”

“Yeah, see that would have been a perfect time!”

Poe leaned onto the low wall bordering the roof, resting on his elbows He dropped his head into his hands.

“It wasn’t. How do I look my crew in the eye, right before asking them to go on a mission, and tell them that the last time things got too tough, I ran away and left my crew in the hands of the authorities?”

Finn leaned on the wall as well, resting on one arm, and putting the other hand on Poe’s shoulder.

“That’s not what happened! You did the right thing then. And you do right by us now. You always do!”

“Yeah, well. It was a long time ago, but it really stuck with me,” Poe said after a moment. “Thanks for listening.”

“Thanks for telling me,” Finn said, meaning it. “I knew you were keeping something from me.”

“Well, actually, there’s something else I-”

“Hey, guys!” Zorii called out, poking her helmeted head up to the roof. “Babu’s figured it out if you want to be there for that.”

Both Finn and Poe hesitated before following Zorii down. Somehow, despite the conversation, each felt there was still a lot left to say.

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, as always for reading! And thank you to my beta reader whose comments continue to leave me with a stupid grin on my face <3


	5. Sneak

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He stood in the shadow of the Falcon and gazed up at it. Han Solo’s ship, in his possession at last. It had been Ben Solo’s greatest wish to pilot the Falcon one day, his father at his side. But these were the dreams of a child. In any case, Han Solo had gone and given his prized ship to a scavenger girl from nowhere, deeming her more worthy than his own son.
> 
> If only he knew, Kylo Ren thought ruefully. If you knew what she was Solo, you wouldn’t have handed over the controls so quickly. She's no better than your son.

Finn and Poe followed Zorii back into Babu Frik’s workshop. Rey and Rose stood off to the side waiting, though both looked up as they entered. The moment Babu Frik spotted Zorii, he began to speak with great urgency, gesturing wildly at C-3PO’s head. Zorii looked around at all of them, incredulity apparent in her every move. 

“Babu says your droid’s forbidden memory bank has a message translated from Sith?” she half shouted.

“Right,” Rey said. “That’s the clue.”

“Who are you hanging around with that speaks Sith?” Zorii asked Poe, gesturing at Rey.

“Babu…Mr. Frik. Can you make him translate it?” Rose asked, cutting across the tension.

Babu spoke again, looking to Zorii to translate.

“He says if he does, it’ll cause a-”

“A complete memory wipe.” Threepio said. 

“A complete…so we make him translate it, he doesn’t remember anything?” Poe asked, worry creeping into his voice. Sure, he gave Threepio a hard time, but wiping his memory? Depriving him of his personality felt inhumane and cruel. And who knew what crucial information was stored in there?

“Droid memory go blank.” Babu said, nodding.

“Oh dear!” Threepio wailed.

“Blank blank.” Babu said quietly, shaking his little head.

“Wait!” Finn said. “R2 backs up your memory, doesn’t he?”

“His storage units are famously unreliable!” Threepio exclaimed.

This sounded untrue to Poe. In the time he’d known R2-D2, the old astromech had been nothing if not reliable. Not that he was going to say that to an old protocol droid who was clearly on the verge of a panic attack. They all fell into a tense silence, their mission having reached a stalemate once more.

“You know the odds better than any of us. What’s our alternative?” Rey asked Threepio. 

Threepio appeared to consider.

“If this mission fails. It was all for nothing. All we’ve done. All this time.”

Threepio turned awkwardly to the side and nodded at Babu Frik, then turned back and looked intently at them each in turn.

“What are you doing there, Threepio?” Poe asked.

“Taking one last look sir. At my friends.”

The beauty of the moment was punctured by Babu Frik swearing loudly as he dug through his toolbox. 

Finn moved over to stand near Rose and Rey. Poe pulled Zorii towards the back of the workshop, out of earshot of the others. 

“How long has it been like this?” he asked quietly, gesturing towards the outside. Even at this late hour, they could hear stormtroopers marching and barking orders at frightened civilians. 

“Too long.” Zorii reached up and removed her helmet. She shook her long brown curls loose and met Poe’s eyes. In a lot of ways, she still looked like the girl Poe had known all those years ago, but older, more tired, and with an unmistakable air of sadness. The reckless, carefree girl who risked everything with no thought of consequence was buried so far down, Poe wondered if she even existed anymore.

Poe had obviously stared for a couple of moments too long, because Zorii gave him a playful shove and set her helmet down on a nearby table. 

“First Order took most of the kids a long time ago,” she continued. “It’s unbearable here. I’m getting out. Saved enough to go to the colonies. Plus I got this.”

She pulled a small metal disk out of her pocket and held it up for Poe to see. 

“A First Order captain's medallion!” Poe exclaimed. “Where did you get that?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” she laughed. “Free passage through the blockade. Landing privileges, any vessel.”

Poe whistled and shook his head, deeply impressed.

“Wanna come with me?” Zorii asked suddenly, her voice heavy with hesitation.

For a moment, for the briefest instant, Poe considered it. He pulled his gaze away from Zorii and trained it on the three humans and three droids standing near Babu Frik as the tiny alien continued to search for a specific tool. As if he could feel Poe staring, Finn turned and looked at Poe. 

_“What?”_ He mouthed. Poe shook his head again.

“I can’t. I can’t walk out on this war. Can’t walk out on them. Gotta fight till it’s over. Though maybe it already is.”

Poe sank down into a chair. It felt good to unburden himself like this

“We sent a call for help at the Battle of Crait. No one came. Everyone is so scared. They’ve all given up.”

Poe was so wrapped up in what he was saying, that he didn’t notice Rose had broken away from the group and was now joining him and Zorii.

“I don’t believe you believe that,” Zorii said. “They win by making you think you’re alone. Remember, there are more of us.”

“I’m so sorry to interrupt,” Rose said. “Babu found the tools he needed. He’s ready to start.”

The three of them scrambled to join the rest of the group. 

“Babu ready!” the little alien exclaimed.

“Wait, I just thought of something else we could try!” Threepio said in a panic.

Babu, however, did not wait. One quick twist of a tool in the back of Threepio’s head and the droid powered down.

“Now droid is ready!” Babu said, swapping his current tool out for another. After quickly fiddling for a moment, Threepio powered back up. The droids eyes no longer emitted their soft white glow. Instead, they had turned a dark menacing red.

In a voice that sounded nothing like his usual clipped, fussy tone, Threepio began to speak:

“The Emperor’s Wayfinder is in the Imperial vault. Delta 3-6, Transient 9-3-6, Bearing 3-2…the Endor system. From the southern shore. Only this blade tells.”

Threepio powered back down. Rose looked up from the old data pad where she had hastily been recording the information. 

“OK, so Endor,” she said. “Rey?”

Rey had frozen in place, her eyes widening as they did when she was seeing something, sensing something, the rest of them could not. 

“The First Order. They’re here. Kylo Ren and…” Her face changed, a faint glow of happiness and disbelief creeping in. “Chewie?”

“Chewie?” Finn asked.

“He’s here. He’s alive. He’s on the Star Destroyer.”

“How?!” Poe exclaimed.

“Another transport, I guess. In the desert.”

“Wait, hang on, your friend is up on that sky trash?”

Poe shrugged, too full of sudden purpose and unexpected relief to form a coherent sentence.

“What are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Finn said. They all picked up their belongings and discarded their coats. Babu Frik replaced the panel on Threepio’s head and he powered up once again.

“Good evening to you all. I am C-3PO, human-cyborg relations! And you are?” He chirped, as though they were all total strangers. Which, Poe supposed, they were.

“That’s gonna get old fast,” he muttered.

“Hello. I Babu Frik!”, the little alien said, extending a tiny hand to shake Threepio’s larger golden one. 

“Threepio, move your metal ass, we gotta go,” Poe called.

“How dare you! We’ve only just met!”

The group filed up the stairs, with Poe bringing up the rear. Zorii caught him by the arm before he could follow. She slapped the small captain’s medallion into his palm. 

“Might get you on that ship. Go help your friend.”

“I can’t…I can’t take this.” Poe said, trying to hand it back.

“Oh yes you can,” Zorii said, closing his hand to indicate that the matter was settled.

“Hey. Come with us?”

“Poe. I have people that need me too. Go.”

Poe hesitated, then looked down at the medallion.

“I could kiss you,” he said.

Zorii responded by putting her helmet back on and lightly pushing him towards the door. 

“Go!” she laughed.

***

The Star Destroyer hovered in orbit over Kijimi. The frigid planet was visible through the doors of Hangar 12, where Kylo Ren awaited his TIE fighter. His encounter with the Wookie had left him rattled. He’d thought the interrogation would carry a slight tinge of bittersweet memory, but nothing more. Instead, he’d been entirely overcome with it. Memory after happy memory of Ben Solo’s life had been wielded against him like a weapon, reminding him of the ways he’d torn that family apart.

Another memory of that family also occupied a corner of Hangar 12, though this was far larger and more difficult to ignore. The Millennium Falcon stood in pride of place in the hangar, with all stormtroopers giving it a wide berth on the orders of the Supreme Leader himself. 

He stood in the shadow of the Falcon and gazed up at it. Han Solo’s ship, in his possession at last. It had been Ben Solo’s greatest wish to pilot the Falcon one day, his father at his side. But these were the dreams of a child. In any case, Han Solo had gone and given his prized ship to a scavenger girl from nowhere, deeming her more worthy than his own son.

 _If only he knew,_ Kylo Ren thought ruefully. _If you knew what she was Solo, you wouldn’t have handed over the controls so quickly. She's no better than your son._

At this, thoughts of her began to swim in his head - unbidden, though if he was being honest with himself, not entirely unwelcome either. He could sense that she was nearby, their connection humming in his soul as though an invisible hand was plucking at the thread that connected them. He ought to tell her what he knew. She would have to join him once he told her. He slipped a hand into his pocket and felt for the small wooden beads he’d salvaged from her necklace. He gripped them in his fist, closed his eyes, and slipped into a meditative state.

 _Rey,_ he called out through the Force. He thought he might be able to feel the glimmer of a connection. All he’d have to do was press a little more and-

“Supreme Leader!” a modulated voice said suddenly, breaking him out of his trance.

Kylo Ren whirled around, and the stormtrooper behind him took a few not so subtle steps backwards.

“Sir,” the stormtrooper continued. “Your TIE fighter is prepared to depart for the surface! The stormtrooper detachment is already searching the city as you requested.”

He stalked off across the hangar without a word. He leapt into his TIE with agility characteristic of Jedi training. The hatch was barely closed before he took off out of the hangar and towards the planet’s surface.

 _I’ll find you, Rey_ , he thought as Kijimi grew closer. _And when I do, you’ll finally know the truth_.

***

Poe smoothly navigated Ochi’s little transport towards the colossal Star Destroyer. Rey stood, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the back of Poe’s seat. Behind them, Rose and Finn gathered what few belongings they’d managed to spread out during their short stay on the borrowed vessel.

“Moment of truth,” Poe said, more to himself than to Rey. He extracted a small golden disk from his pocket and turned back to her. “I’m about to request landing using the medallion. Should I request a specific hangar? Anywhere strategic?”

“Can we do that?” Rey asked, surprised.

“Captain’s medallion. Figured it’s worth a shot,” Poe said. Rey nodded in agreement. 

She reached out into the Force again, trying to tap into the same jolt of energy that told her Chewie was still alive. In her meditative state, she felt the pull of something familiar. She felt herself moving towards it, and reached out, willing herself to see it clearer. A lone dark figure stood at the edge of her vision for the briefest moment before pulling away. But as she focused and the clouds cleared, though the figure was gone, an extremely welcome sight was left in its place. 

“The Falcon!” Rey exclaimed suddenly, startling Poe. 

“Where?” He said, peering out of the viewport.

“Hangar…uh…Hangar 12! Request landing at Hangar 12.”

Poe inserted the medallion and keyed in the request. Finn and Rose, their task completed, joined them in the cockpit. 

“Now we wait,” Finn muttered.

The screen in front of Poe lit up, and the pilot broke into a smile. 

“We’re clear!” he said, guiding the ship to Hangar 12 with a renewed sense of purpose. 

“Poe, when we get inside, see if you can land us close to the Falcon.” Rey said, moving towards the door. “Rose, you take the droids and sneak on board. We’ll get Chewie and meet back here. Agreed?” 

Rose and Finn both agreed, while Poe gently set the small ship down as close to the Falcon as he could without drawing suspicion. The hangar was large, and well-lit. If anyone had been looking for them, they would be impossible to miss. Mercifully, the hangar appeared to be mostly empty save for a couple of stormtroopers who didn’t seem to particularly care what a junky old transport was doing. As soon as the ramp dropped, Rose and the droids bolted out and moved as quickly as they could to the waiting Falcon. C-3PO tried to follow as quickly as he could, though running was a bit beyond his capabilities. His heavy footsteps resonated on the hard, shiny flooring, though the echo was absorbed by the sheer size of the space. 

“Which way?” Poe asked, once they ascertained that Rose and the droids were safely on the Falcon. He and Finn looked to Rey.

“Uh…” Rey said, feeling momentarily off balance. She could sense Kylo Ren in this space, his energy lingering. He had been here only moments ago, the unclear figure she’d seen by the Falcon in her vision, she was now sure of it. Though she was much less sure about where he’d gone. She was snapped out of the powerful reverie their connection had thrown her into by Finn grabbing her hand.

“This way, let’s go!” he said. Once he was sure he had her attention, he dropped her hand and took off after Poe. 

***

Finn caught up with Poe as he led them through a series of identical, fluorescent blue-grey hallways. Rey brought up the rear, her hand resting on her lightsaber hilt at all times. 

“Where are we going?” Finn asked Poe after he led them down yet another endless passage. 

“The brig on Destroyers like this is usually-”

“Hold it!” a modulated voice called out. 

The group froze. Directly in their path stood two stormtroopers, their blasters drawn, and probably set to kill. 

“Drop your weapons!” the second one called.

Finn and Poe were reaching slowly down to draw out their own blasters when Finn felt something push past him. Or rather someone.

“It’s OK that we’re here,” Rey said to the stormtroopers, her hand raised in the way that indicated she was manipulating their minds.

“It’s ok that you’re here,” The first stormtrooper repeated slowly.

“Of course it’s ok that you’re here,” The second one confirmed.

“You’re relieved that we’re here,” Rey pressed. 

“Thank goodness you’re here.”“Welcome guys!”

Rey had laid it on so thick, Finn found himself half convinced of the things she was saying. He nearly said that he, too, was relieved they were here when a thought occurred to him.

“You think she does that to us?” he asked Poe quietly. 

“She might. Can’t say I’d blame her sometimes,” Poe muttered back.

“You want to tell us where the Wookie is. And his belongings.” Rey continued.

“The Wookie is three decks down on the detention level,” said one of the troopers.

“But we don’t know where his belongings are.”

Rey dismissed them with a wave of her hand, and looked around, stress evident on her face.

“Rey, it’s fine, we’ll just get Chewie and go.” Finn said, tentatively heading towards the nearby turbolift.

“The dagger. It’s on the ship. We need it.”

“How do you know?” Poe asked.

“A feeling,” she said simply. “Go, get Chewie, I’ll meet you back at the hangar.”

She took off down the corridor, not waiting for a response. 

“Wha- Rey!” Finn called.

“Finn! Let’s go!” Poe said urgently. 

Finn hesitated for a moment before following Poe into the waiting turbolift.

Though the ride down wasn’t long, the air between the two men hummed with tension. Something had changed on Kijimi, Finn could feel it. Changed for the better. But Finn was still haunted by the secret he kept. He’d just resolved to come clean to Poe, and had taken a deep breath to do so, when the doors slid open. Another time then. 

“Which room is he in?” Poe muttered, staring down an endless hallway lined with identical doors. “Is there a map or-?”

“Chewie!” Finn called, loud enough for his voice to resonate down the corridor, but not so loud that it would alert sentries in another passage.

The two men listened closely, moving down the hallway as soundlessly as possible. Finally, they heard it. A low, resigned Wookie moan. 

Finn drew his blaster and shot the keypad by the entrance. The door slid open and Poe rushed inside. Chewie roared his surprise as Finn and Poe laughed in relief. 

“Of course we came for you, Chewie!” Poe said, getting to work on the binders holding Chewie in place.

“Rey’s here too. She went to get the dagger.” Finn said.

Chewie began roaring in alarm. 

“It’s ok! She’ll be fine!” Finn said, trying to calm down Chewbacca, who looked deeply worried.

The three of them slipped out of the interrogation room and checked to see that the coast was clear.

“I hear voices,” Poe hissed. “By the turbo lift. Let’s go this way.”

“But that’s the wrong way. It gets us further from the ship.” Finn whispered back. 

“Well the right way isn’t waltzing right into the arms of waiting stormtroopers, is it?”

“HOLD IT!” A new voice called.

So much for that plan.

Three Stormtroopers met them at the other end of the hallway. Their blasters were raised, and this time there was no Rey to convince them they had better things to do. Lacking that option, Poe raised his own blaster, and was shot in the arm in response. The force of the blast knocked him to the ground.

“Poe!” Finn yelled. He knelt down beside him and lowered his voice. “Are you OK?”

He tried to help Poe sit up before both men were yanked unceremoniously to their feet. Their hands were put in binders and they were dragged to the side to stand with Chewbacca.

“Take them to Hux,” One of the troopers said. “Now.”

They were all pushed forward. Poe’s guard prodded his injured arm.

“Easy there, buddy,” Poe groaned.

“Shut it, scum,” was all the trooper had to say in response.

Finn’s last thought as they were dragged into another turbo lift was _I just hope Rey made it back to the Falcon._

***

Rey met virtually no resistance as she searched for the dagger, short of ducking a couple of passing patrols. She reached out for the Force to guide her. She could feel the Dark side radiating off the dagger so clearly, she could almost hear it: the swelling of a song that was too terrible to listen to. But listen she did, because otherwise she wouldn’t have the faintest idea where to search. The corridor she was currently searching was likely where higher-ranked officers lived. Though the overall look was still industrial and uniform, it gave off an air of grandeur than the lower decks had not. The doors were few and far between, as well as larger. An indication of the size of the rooms beyond. Rey just hoped that the doors didn’t each lead to a fresh set of hallways.

Finally the song became so loud, it was deafening. She stopped outside a large door that, unlike the others, had no keypad outside. She reached into the Force and gently probed the door. Apparently this was all it took, as the entrance slid open without setting off any alarms. Rey darted inside before the door changed it’s mind and decided to block her way after all. 

Unlike the brightly lit hallway, this small antechamber was darker. There was also very little in the way of furniture. In the centre of the room sat a worktable, and the open doorway on the other side likely led to the officers sleeping quarters. _Not just any officer_ Rey realized, zeroing in on a small table near the worktable. On the table, which was really more of a podium, sat a black, twisted lump of metal and plastic. A helmet. Vader. Rey recognized the helmet from her brief foray into Kylo Ren’s head when he’d been trying to read hers instead. Which meant these quarters were definitely his. 

At last she spotted what she had come for. The dagger sat on the work table, next to the rest of Chewie’s personal effects. Rey hastily packed them up, slinging the bandolier over her shoulder and stuffing the rest into Chewie’s bag. Finally, the only thing left was the dagger itself. 

She reached out hesitantly. She could almost hear the Sith artifact whispering to her. The last time she’d experienced something similar had been the day she found her lightsaber at Maz Kanata’s castle. Mere contact with the object had produced the most startling vision she’d ever had, and she knew in her heart that something similar would unfold once she lay a hand on the Sith dagger now. But time was running out, and she couldn’t afford to waste any more time. Her hand shot out and closed around the hilt. As expected, the Force energy around the object screamed to life inside her head.

_A young woman, maybe in her twenties, in a worn, sun-bleached uniform of an Imperial officer. A young man, same age, same dress, beside her. He looked down with a look of anger, her with one of fear. “No” the woman whispered, horrified._

_Rey, aged 5, being pulled across the hot, dry sands of Jakku by Unkar Plutt. Her face streaked with tears. Her hand extended to the sky as a small ship flew away, leaving her behind._

_“No!” she wailed. “Come back!”_

“No”, Rey said, dropping the dagger back onto the table as though it had burned her. 

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading as always! This is where we'll start diverting from TROS a little more, so thanks for sticking with me!
> 
> Also I've upped the chapter count back to 19. I had to divide one upcoming chapter into 2 parts because I got just the tiniest bit carried away (it's worth it, I promise).


	6. Shift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Rey,” he said, almost gently. “I pushed you in the desert because I needed to see it. See what you can do. I needed you to see what you are. I know the rest of your story. The truth about your parents.”
> 
> So there was more after all. Rey had sat with this uneasy feeling since he’d forced her to confront the truth in the throne room. The feeling that there might be more to it than simple junk traders selling their child off. Any time she’d felt she was coming to terms with it, the seed of doubt took root in her mind once again. She glared at Kylo Ren, no longer caring if he saw the tears in her eyes. She activated her lightsaber.
> 
> “Liar,” she whispered. “My parents were no one.”
> 
> “I’m not lying to you. Your parents were no one.” He paused for a moment. “In the grand scheme of things.”

The stormtroopers shoved Finn, Poe, and Chewie through a doorway and into a large yet sparse office. A tall, slim, redheaded man sat behind the desk. Finn tensed. He would recognize that man anywhere. The man who had been responsible for the waking nightmare the First Order called “Basic Training”: Armitage Hux.

“The prisoners. As requested,” one of the stormtroopers said. 

Hux stood quickly, and walked around the desk until he was inches from Finn’s face.

“FN-2187,” he sneered. “The day you defected is the day my problems began.”

“Hux,” Finn replied. “The day I saw the light was the day the First Order came that much closer to inevitable defeat.”

“You think rather highly of yourself, don’t you?” Hux hissed.

“When it’s warranted,” Finn shot back.

The two men glared at each other.

“So  _ you’re _ Hux!” Poe said, shattering the tension with the subtlety of a rancor through a glass window. “Always nice to put a face to the name!”

Hux stood away from Finn and looked at the three prisoners appraisingly. 

“Execute them. Prepare to fire on my command.”

Behind them, Finn could hear the sounds of blasters powering up. He felt his stomach drop. They’d been through so much, gotten out of so many scrapes. But he genuinely didn’t see how they would finesse their way out of this one. He’d never had the chance to tell Rey what he’d discovered, though he supposed it didn’t matter now. But then he’d also never had a chance to tell Poe-

“What were you going to tell Rey before?” Poe whispered, leaning closer to Finn.

“Are you serious?”

“I’m sorry, is this not a good time?” Poe said, as though this were a regular argument they  might be having on board the Falcon.

“I mean…not really, Poe.”

_ I should just tell him _ Finn thought to himself.  _ About what I wanted to tell Rey and…about how I feel about him. _

“Actually,” Hux said to the stormtroopers. “I’d like to do this myself.”

“We don’t really have time to have this conversation later,” Poe said quickly. “If you have something to say to me, something you think I should know, I think now might be the time.”

Finn turned to face his friend. Poe wore an expression of fear and desperation, and Finn knew with almost complete certainty that this was only partially because of the mess they found themselves in.

“Do you have something to-” Finn started to say.

He was cut off by the sound of a blaster firing just behind his head, and the sound of bodies falling. He flinched forward, eyes screwed shut at the noise. After a moment, he took a shaky breath. But if he was breathing…He turned to look back. As he did, he saw Poe and Chewie turning as well. If they were alive, who had been shot?

Hux stood firmly in place, clutching a blaster. The three stormtroopers that brought them in lay dead on the floor. 

“I’m the spy,” Hux said simply.

***

“Wherever you are, you’re hard to find,” said a voice behind Rey, startling her out of her shock. She spun. It was Kylo Ren. Of course it was. 

“You’re hard to get rid of,” she spat, recovering quickly. Her grabbing the dagger like that must have exposed her somehow, left her vulnerable enough for him to find her through their bond. She didn’t want him to see how rattled she was. 

“Rey,” he said, almost gently. “I pushed you in the desert because I needed to see it. See what you can do. I needed you to see what you are. I know the rest of your story. The truth about your parents.”

So there was more after all. Rey had sat with this uneasy feeling since he’d forced her to confront the truth in the throne room. The feeling that there might be more to it than simple junk traders selling their child off. Any time she’d felt she was coming to terms with it, the seed of doubt took root in her mind once again. She glared at Kylo Ren, no longer caring if he saw the tears in her eyes. She activated her lightsaber.

“Liar,” she whispered. “My parents were no one.”

“I’m not lying to you. Your parents  _ were  _ no one.” He paused for a moment. “In the grand scheme of things.”

“Don’t!”

“You remember more than you say. I can feel it. Search your memories.”

“No!” Rey lunged with the saber, but was not granted the satisfaction of actually making contact with anything. 

“Remember them. See them,” Kylo said, his voice infuriatingly calm and patient, like the voice of a teacher guiding a reluctant student. 

_ The young woman in the Imperial uniform stared down at her daughter in horror. _

_ On the floor in front of her sat the child, about 4 or 5 years old, her hair up in three little buns. The child was unusually focused on the blocks in front of her, which were currently floating about a foot off the ground. One block knocked into another. The child frowned, then clenched her small fist. The offending block exploded into a fine dust. _

_ “What is this?” the mother whispered to her husband. _

_ “Something unseen for generations,” the father whispered back. “Jedi, they were called. She’s unusually strong.” _

_ “What do we do? Turn her over to the emperor? It’s the right thing to do.” _

_ “And have him come after us for producing a Force sensitive child? We’ll be locked up. Experimented on. The Jedi were criminals and we’ll be guilty by association.” _

_ “Then what? Leave Jakku? Leave her behind here?” _

_ “We’ll take her to Niima outpost. Leave her with the scavengers. We can barter for passage off.” _

_ The young woman looked at her daughter once more, then nodded.  _

_ Unkar Plutt dragged Rey across the sand dune. She raised her tear stained face to the sky, not understanding why her parents had left her with this awful person. What had she done wrong? Maybe they didn’t realize what they were doing? Maybe it was because of how she had destroyed her block? Maybe she could call them back, and promise never to use her special magic again?  _

_ “Come baaaaaack!” she wailed. Maybe she could recall them the way she summoned her toys from across the room? She reached a hand up to the sky, towards the departing ship, willing it to return. _

_ They couldn’t leave her here! Not with Unkar Plutt, who didn’t care about her. They couldn’t go off on exciting adventures and leave Rey behind. Didn’t they care at all? _

_ All Rey’s anger and sadness poured through her, concentrating in her outstretched hand. Before she realized what was happening, lightning burst from her fingertips and struck the transport overhead, blasting it into more fiery pieces than she could ever hope to count.  _

“They sold you to protect themselves. They posed as junk traders, claimed they needed drinking money then they used what they got to buy their passage off,” Kylo Ren said, his voice steady. Rey felt as though the ground was being pulled out from under her feet.

“No,” Rey said, feeling sick. “I couldn’t…I didn’t…”

“But you did. You did and it scarred you so badly you hid away your potential. Repressed it. But now you’re finally seeing all that you’re capable of. I see it. Palpatine sees it.”

“I don’t care. I’ll hide it away again before I join the likes of you.” Rey wasn’t ready to deal with any of this yet. All she cared about was getting out of this room, off the ship and away from Kylo Ren.

“That’s not the whole story. Tell me where you are; I’ll tell you everything.”

Rey, now in a rage, swung blindly. She struck the podium holding Darth Vader’s helmet, splitting it in two.

***

On the surface of Kijimi, Kylo Ren took a sudden step back as something came skittering towards him. There was something familiar about the debris that now lay at his feet. He recognized it after a moment: it was from the podium on which he kept his grandfather’s helmet.

“So that’s where you are,” he said. “Stay there, I’ll come find you.”

He closed his mind off, and in so doing, severed their connection. 

“She’s in my quarters. Lock down the ship!” he snapped at a passing stormtrooper. 

He had been waiting for this moment since he found out the truth about Rey. Now she knew how much they had in common. Once he’d finished telling her everything, that would be the final step she needed to take for them to come together at last, to forge a path forward for the galaxy that was unburdened by the expectations and baggage of the past.

***

“I’m the spy.”

“You?” Finn asked, incredulous. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.  _ Hux _ was their source?  _ Hux  _ alerted them about the First Order’s every move?

Poe burst out laughing, partially to release some tension, partly with genuine mirth.

“I knew it!” he laughed.

“No you did not,” Finn said, rolling his eyes. Not expecting to be called out like that, Poe sobered up quickly, though his eyes still crinkled with amusement. 

“Why?” Finn asked, suddenly suspicious.

“We don’t have time,” Hux said stiffly.

“He’s right,” Poe said. “We need to get out of here.”

“No,” Finn said. “If I’m going to trust you, even for a minute, I need to know why.”

Hux sighed deeply, then cast a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure the door was shut. 

“My entire life was lived in service to the First Order,” Hux said after a moment. “After I orchestrated the death of my father, I expected to rise to the top fairly quickly. To lead. I was brought before Supreme Leader Snoke and given a role on par with that of Ren and his…theatrics.”

Hux paused to sneer at the mere idea of Kylo Ren.

“I thought while Snoke busied himself with his little apprentice, I could wield what power I had to strengthen our cause. But Ren is unstable. He doesn’t care about the survival of the Order. He likely killed Snoke himself to seize control just because he could. He cares nothing about ensuring order and stability across the galaxy.”

“You call that stability? What you made us-” Finn started to say. Poe reached out and placed a calming hand on Finn’s shoulder. Finn found that he didn’t mind much. 

“What the First Order brought to the galaxy has more than made up for the inconsistent mess the New Republic left in its wake!” Hux spat. “But under Ren we’re no better. Chaos. Discord. Invaluable resources given over to the new Supreme Leader so he can hunt down some nothing scavenger girl.”

“So why give information to the Resistance?”

“If you win this fight against Ren,” Hux said simply. “I might yet be able to win the war for the galaxy.”

Though the twisted reasoning meant that Finn, Poe and Chewie got to live another day without a hole in their heads, Finn couldn’t help but feel deeply unsettled by Hux’s reasoning. 

***

Hux led them away from his office and back towards Hangar 12. 

“Once you’re on board, I’ll override the systems. You should be able to get your ship out, but you’ll only have moments.”

Finn nodded and steeled himself for the sprint to the Falcon. 

“There she is!” Poe called. Finn peered over the other man’s shoulder in time to see a small figure sprinting towards the Falcon, ducking behind crates and equipment anytime it seemed like she might get caught.

“She’s a survivor,” Finn said with a smile. Poe took off for the ship at a run. Chewie was close behind him, though moving awkwardly thanks to injuries sustained on board. 

“Wait!” Hux called. “Blast me in the arm!”

“Huh?” Finn asked, confused.

“Or they’ll know.”

Finn stared at the other man for a moment. 

“After everything you put me through - put all of us through - I should let them catch you,” Finn hissed.

Hux stood ramrod straight, ready to accept whatever his fate might be. For the briefest moment, Finn was tempted to make good on his threat. To walk away and let Hux get caught. But something about the other man stirred pity in Finn, though he couldn’t place what exactly it was he was feeling. The general had an indistinct aura of pain about him, strong enough that Finn wondered how he hadn’t noticed it before. Finn raised his blaster and fired, catching Hux right where his arm met his shoulder. The point blank range threw Hux off balance and he toppled to the ground. He might pity Hux, but Finn would be lying to himself if he said he didn’t feel a small amount of satisfaction from seeing this man brought low.

Hux, however, merely nodded his acknowledgement which Finn returned stiffly before spinning on his heel and following Poe into the hangar. 

***

Rey sprinted across the hangar towards the Falcon, the muscles in her legs screaming in protest. She was nearly there. She could see Rose waving frantically from the boarding ramp. 

But no she wasn’t waving, she was…pointing?

Rey turned her head to see what it was Rose had noticed, when she saw a tall imposing figure dressed all in black. Kylo Ren. She skidded to a halt. Behind her, she could hear frantic footsteps, and she knew without looking that that would be Finn, Poe, and Chewie catching up to her. They shot past her and towards the Falcon. 

“Rey!” Finn called out. 

“Take off, I’ll catch up!”

“But-”

She turned and smiled reassuringly, looking far more confident than she felt.

“Really, I will.”

She took a couple of determined steps away from the Falcon and towards Kylo Ren, stopping as soon as she felt like she was out of shouting distance. A roar of sound and a gush of wind behind her told her that the Falcon had taken off.

“Why would Palpatine care if they had a Force-sensitive child? Why would they leave me to get away from him?”

“Your parents both worked at Palpatine’s outpost on Jakku, after the fall of the Empire when Imperials took their orders from his sentinel droids. They knew, even then, that Palpatine wanted to stamp out any Jedi that would be a threat to his return to power. And you? You were just so strong with the Force. You still are. That’s why he wants you dead.”

The memory of what she’d done, an evil, creeping sensation was working its way through her body and invading her mind. The thought was so vivid and overwhelming she clamped her mouth shut before the feeling manifested as a scream.

“I didn’t want this,” she said, swallowing her panic. “I don’t want any of this.”

“It doesn’t have to be like this,” Kylo Ren said quietly. “We can kill Palpatine together and take the throne. He knows how powerful you are, Rey. How your powers can be twisted to suit the Dark side.”

He paused, the muscles of his jaw tensing visibly. Rey could sense Kylo’s hesitation. Whatever it was he wanted to say thrilled and terrified him in equal measure. He clenched his fists then relaxed them. His eyes met Rey’s and in them she saw desperation. He was longing to be understood, and for the briefest instant Rey thought she could see the vulnerable, almost kind Kylo Ren she’d known a year ago shining through.

He took a deep breath.

“What he doesn’t know is that you and I are a dyad in the Force,” he said at last.

Rey had been too shaken to speak while Kylo Ren laid out Palpatine’s plan, but that caught her attention. A dyad? She’d seen that mentioned in the Jedi texts.

“A dyad? Two that are one? Two halves of the same soul?”

Kylo’s warm brown eyes lit up in surprise. The expression would have been endearing had he not been trying to convince her to leave behind her friends and everything else she held dear. But how could it be? How could she share a soul with this monster? The man who turned his back on every chance of redemption, and turned his back on her? The one who had killed his own father.

_ That makes two of us, though, doesn’t it? _ said a small voice at the back of her head.

“So what will it be?” Kylo asked. “Will you take your place in this fight?”

“I already have,” Rey said, taking a couple of backwards steps before spinning and sprinting 

towards the hangar bay doors. The Falcon hovered in Kijimi’s upper atmosphere, just outside the containment field, the ramp still lowered. Trusting in the Force, Rey propelled herself forward and through the containment field towards the waiting ship. Finn stood on the ramp, one hand extended to catch her, a cord tied around his waist. She extended an arm towards her friend. 

“I got you!” Finn said, catching her arm and bringing her swinging up, before immediately rushing her inside and shutting the ramp behind them. 

***

Kylo Ren was reeling. He’d expected to hold the upper hand in that conversation, to be the one to tell Rey everything about their connection, absolutely certain that this would be what cemented their union against the Emperor. But as soon as Rey had voiced her understanding of the situation, Kylo realized this wouldn’t be going as planned. The idea of their sharing a soul, and sharing a connection in the Force had been repulsive to her, clearly. She’d successfully been able to mask her feelings from him, but he could tell. Why else would she have run back to the Resistance, when his was the far more tempting offer? But he wouldn’t give up, not when he knew where he’d be able to find her next. Once she’d had some time to consider, she would come around. 

***

The door to the bridge slid open and Armitage Hux walked stiffly into the room, attempting to stand at attention behind Allegiant General Windrunner.

“You wanted to see me, sir?” Hux said.

“What. Happened!” Windrunner bit out, reviewing security holos of the Millennium Falcon’s escape. 

“It was a coordinated incursion. They overpowered me and ordered me to take them to their ship.”

“I see,” Windrunner said. Then, in the blink of an eye, he snatched a weapon from the stormtrooper standing beside him and stunned Hux, who crumpled to the ground for the second time that day.

“Notify the Supreme Leader that we’ve found our spy,” Windrunner said. “And lock him up. I want to know every bit of information he leaked before we execute him.”

***

The moment they were back on board the Falcon and clear of the Star Destroyer, Rey, Rose, and Finn gathered around the Dejarik table. 

“I don’t know why they’re not following us, but it makes me nervous,” Poe said, joining them.

“What happened back there, Rey?” Rose asked. “The guys told me what happened with Hux, but…”

She paused looking for the right word.

“You look…not great. What did Ren say to you?” Finn finished. 

She sighed. Looking down at the table and refusing to meet their eyes, she settled on telling them the truth. She didn’t want to talk about this, but if they wanted to dump her in the Endor system and leave her, so be it. At least then none of them would get hurt. 

“Palpatine wants me dead,” she said, finally. “Always has, in a way.”

“How did he even know about you?” Rose asked.

“He didn’t, not at first. My parents. They, ah, they were Imperial officers. They knew that 

Palpatine wouldn’t allow Force sensitive children to survive in his Empire. They also knew they would probably suffer for having brought a Force sensitive child like me into the world. So they…left me. On Jakku.”

She dared to glance up and around the table. Rose’s hand was firmly planted over her mouth. Finn’s eyes burned with fury on her behalf. Poe took it all in with a quiet concentration, as though he were putting together a comprehensive mental image while she spoke. 

“That’s nothing we don’t already know,” Poe said finally. “You told us what he said to you in Snoke’s throne room. How is this different?”

“When they were leaving Jakku, I was devastated. I didn’t understand where they were going,  I didn’t understand what I could do. I tried to call the ship back with the Force.”

Rey stopped and placed her head in her hands. She was reliving it all, on a loop, like a small bit of holocam footage. Finn gasped suddenly.

“Like Chewie in the desert?”

“Like Chewie in the desert.”

“He’s lying!” Rose said at once. 

“He’s not lying,” Rey said. “I’m the one who remembered it. I killed my parents.”

There it was. She’d said it out loud and there was no taking it back.

“But it wasn’t your fault, not really.” Finn said tentatively.

“Does that matter?” Rey said. 

None of them spoke up, not that Rey could blame them. The most they could offer were platitudes, that of course it mattered, she had been a child, she hadn’t known what she was doing. But the war had made them all realists. They knew platitudes would do nothing to quell the emotions raging in her heart: the guilt, the anger, the fear of her own abilities.

They sat silently around the table for a few more uncomfortable moments. Poe stood up suddenly and walked back to the cockpit, and the movement broke the spell. Rose went to run a systems check, and Rey made for the bunks. 

“Rey,” Finn called. She ignored him, though it broke her heart to do it. She didn’t get very far before:

“Hey, Rey, wait,” Finn said, catching her around the wrist. “What’s going on? I mean, besides all that?”

“What do you mean, Finn?”

“You don’t seem like yourself. You haven’t for a while.”

“I’m fine,” she said, shrugging. She avoided his eyes, afraid she would lose what composure she still had. 

Her resolution did not last long. 

With a soft wail, she leaned forward and buried her face in Finn’s shoulder. He wrapped her in a hug and let her cry it out. She could vaguely sense movement behind them but she didn’t care to look up. After a few moments, she lifted her face and wiped the last of her tears away.

“Palpatine is the reason my parents left me behind. It was fear of him and what he would do,” she said, a dark steely edge in her tone. “I’m not letting fear of a ghost tear the galaxy apart. I won’t let him take everyone I love from me.”

“That’s what we’re trying to do,” Finn said, gently.

“I’m going to find him, find his sentinels, and destroy them before he hurts anyone else.”

Finn looked at her, surprised.

“Rey, I know you. This doesn’t sound like you.”

Rey shook her head.

“I have to go, Finn, I’m sorry.”

She turned and left him standing in the corridor.

Rey shut herself in the bunk she’d claimed as her own and locked the door, feeling both resolved and overwhelmed. Finn was one thing, but would anyone else understand? She’d killed her parents, and somehow blocked the memory entirely. The darkness that had occasionally stirred in her felt stronger and bolder now. Perhaps patricide was just a side effect of that darkness. Something that couldn’t be helped. The Dark side exploited weakness, and it used young people vulnerable to the Force as it’s playthings. The only way to truly make things right would be to eliminate Palpatine once and for all. To bring back that elusive “balance” the texts spoke of.

Feeling frustration wash over her and needing an outlet, Rey kicked violently at the wall. She heard a small hiss, and a storage compartment opened and slid out. The drawer was nearly empty from what she could see, but she heard a small roll and a thunk as the lone object inside came to rest at the front edge. Rey knelt, picked up the object, and was surprised to find it was a lightsaber. The hilt was a different shape than what she was used to, but absolutely beautiful. It was accented with copper and mother-of-pearl inlays. She activated it and saw the blade was blue, just like her own saber. Given whose ship this had been, this must have been-

“Leia’s?” she whispered to herself. She hadn’t known Leia trained as a Jedi. Not properly anyway. She would have to ask her about it when she got back. In the meantime, she tucked the saber into her bag, where it thunked lightly against her own, useless, saber chassis. She wasn’t about to leave a weapon behind. Not when she knew she would need every advantage on her side in the coming fight.

***

Kylo Ren remained in the hangar long after the Falcon had jumped to hyperspace. He’d analyzed the dagger, and knew what her next move would be. The only question that remained was whether he dared follow her, or whether he split the difference and met her on Coruscant. Because they would meet again, he was absolutely sure of it. 

He was so lost in thought, he failed to register the absolute silence in the hangar. Every stormtrooper, every mechanic, every pilot had vacated the space until he stood there absolutely alone. 

Palpatine’s cold, cruel voice rang out through the empty space: “My apprentice.”

He’d become so gradually accustomed to the total silence, that when a voice broke it, every nerve in his body seized. Palpatine couldn’t be here. How was this possible? He looked around frantically, searching for the source of the voice. He spotted it at last: another sentinel, much like the one on Coruscant, an eerie droid gliding towards him cloaked in red.

“The girl still lives,” Palpatine’s sentinel called out from halfway across the hangar as it grew ever closer. “Perhaps you are not up to the task I have set for you.”

In truth, Kylo had never been up to the task. Killing Rey was the last thing he wanted, but of course he couldn’t make his feelings known to Palpatine. He knew with Rey at his side, with the strength of their combined powers, they could stop Palpatine’s plan. But now? Alone? He felt more than a little unnerved by the former Sith Lord’s omnipresence.

“I know where she’s going,” Kylo said, summoning more bravado than he felt. “She’ll never be a Jedi.”

There. A partial truth. That ought to be safe.

“Make sure of it. If you fail me again, my apprentice, perhaps I shall take young Rey under my wing and have her kill you instead.”

The sentinel glided back out of the hangar. After a few moments, crews and stormtroopers began to make their way back to their posts. Kylo was determined not to stand around any longer. His decision had been made for him. He could no longer wait for Rey on Coruscant. They would have to go together, a united front.

Kylo Ren ordered his TIE prepared. He couldn’t explain it exactly, but something in the Force told him that when he did meet Rey again on Kef Bir, their connection and bond would strengthen irrevocably into something far greater than he could imagine. 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! If you're enjoying it so far, let me know!
> 
> Thank you to my beta reader for her constructive comments on this chapter. Worth mentioning also, that she guessed where things were going with Rey, so yay for that! :)
> 
> I'll try to update soon!


	7. Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn was shocked. He had never imagined Poe to be so devoid of empathy. He felt his heart break a little. 
> 
> “Do you hear yourself? She didn’t know what she was doing.”
> 
> “How do we know it isn’t the ‘Dark side’ or whatever manifesting in her?”
> 
> “Leia trusts her. And Leia knows more about the Dark side than either of us.”
> 
> “Well I’m not Leia!” 
> 
> “That’s for damn sure,” Finn said, storming past Poe. 
> 
> “HEY!” Poe snapped, grabbing Finn’s arm. Despite the anger in his voice, his touch was gentle. 

The moon of Kef Bir was rough, rugged, and beautiful in it’s own way. Windswept fields and cliffs gave way to churning, crashing ocean. In the middle of that ocean sat a jarring reminder of the war that had reached its climax in this system 35 years ago. Entire sections of the Imperial weapon known as the Second Death Star stuck up out of the sea, like a rough jagged island made of metal and glass. But even this had a kind of beauty about it. Three and a half decades of weathering made the structure almost feel like a natural part of the surroundings, at least to those who had arrived after the Death Star did. Jannah was one such individual.

There was something serene about the balance between the safe and peaceful, and the dangerous and unnerving. As Jannah went out on her morning patrol ride, she took a moment, as she always did, to take in her surroundings. There had been a time in her life where the enjoyment of such simple pleasures was beyond her reach, and now it formed a part of her daily routine. The patrols themselves were out of habit, and a formality. Nothing and no one ever came to Kef Bir, and that was how Jannah and her crew liked it.

Sitting astride her orbak, she took a deep breath, relishing the sting of salt in her nose. She closed her eyes and tilted her face to the sky, listening for the predictable music of the wind in the grass and the crash of the waves.

But the day, it seemed, had other plans for her.

Her beautiful, natural melody was punctured by the roar of an engine. Her eyes flew open in time to see a freighter - Corellian, most likely - streaking across the sky and crash-landing onto the field, leaving a large trail of overturned dirt in its wake. She nudged her orbak forward towards the crash site, eager to investigate. 

As she drew closer, she saw the oddest assortment of beings stumble out of the crashed ship: four humans, three droids, the smallest of which was being cradled by one of the humans, and one Wookie bringing up the rear.

“Rough landing?” Jannah called out, unable to resist a joke, since they all seemed to be uninjured.

***

As the Millennium Falcon dropped out of hyperspace and approached the Endor system, Poe Dameron made a terrifying discovery.

“What do you mean the landing gear is broken?!” He shouted at Chewbacca, as Rose bolted out of her seat to try and salvage the landing.

The Wookie roared his excuses, that he had been incapacitated, and really, wasn’t it the pilot’s job to make sure the ship is functioning? Meanwhile, the ship continued hurtling towards Kef Bir, the Endor system’s ocean moon. 

“I’ve done all I can with this,” Rose called from the maintenance hatch. “We won’t die, but it’s going to be rough.”

“Alright, buckle up!” Poe yelled. 

Rose, Finn and Threepio joined Poe and Chewie in the cockpit at once. BB-8 braced himself against the hull. Rey had nearly reached her seat up front when a loud whistle caught her attention. D-0 rolled back and forth in the main room, whistling his panic. Unlike BB-8, the smaller droid didn’t have any cables with which to restrain himself. Rey approached him carefully, her hands out, as though he were a skittish animal. With a loud whistle, he hurtled forward into her arms. Rey scooped up the little droid and carried him into the cockpit, fastening herself in and holding D-0 tightly on her lap.

Poe angled the ship and slowed down somewhat so that they would land in an empty field. They landed hard. Then again, they didn’t so much land as they did skid across the field, pulling out grass and churning up the soil as it went. At last, just as they slid down a short hill, the Falcon came to a stop and everyone was thrown back into their seats. Breathing a collective sigh of relief - and in Rose’s case, groaning with nausea - they unbuckled their restraints and made their way out of the Falcon on shaky legs.

“Rough landing?” a voice called from the top of the hill. A young woman sitting astride an orbak looked down at them all with a bemused look on her face. 

Poe assessed the damage.

“I’ve seen worse,” he said shrugging in an attempt to save face.

“I’ve seen better,” the woman fired back, riding closer. 

“Have you seen a Death Star?” Finn piped up, putting an end to the conversation, and saving  Poe any further embarrassment.

She stopped and looked at each of them in turn, an appraising look on her face.

“You know the Death Star is here?” she asked. “Who  _ are _ you people?” 

Though none of them spoke, Poe knew the glances they cast each other were obvious indications that they were hiding something. 

“Are you with the Resistance?” the young woman prodded.

“Who wants to know?” Rose asked. 

The newcomer sighed deeply.

“So that’s a yes.”

Poe rolled his eyes. They’d assumed the moon was uninhabited, and hadn’t bothered with disguises or a cover story. 

“You don’t have to worry,” the woman continued. “We’ve got no love for the First Order here. I’m Jannah, by the way.”

They each introduced themselves to her in turn.

“Sorry,” Rey piped up. “Did you say you know about the Death Star?”

Jannah nodded. 

“Follow me.”

***

They trekked up the hill and through a field, dampness from the morning dew clinging to their shoes and causing them to tread more carefully than they otherwise might have when in a hurry. Jannah had dismounted her orbak and was leading it by its reins. She showed no signs of slowing down, even though it seemed to Rey that they were running out of space to walk. They came to an abrupt stop at the edge of a cliff. Jannah pointed out towards the open, churning water.

The ruins of the Death Star formed a stark contrast to the natural beauty of the surroundings. It jutted out from the ocean, dark and angry, like a sharp-edged half-moon.

“Good heavens!” exclaimed C-3P0. “What is that dreadful monstrosity?”

“The Death Star,” Rey answered. “A terrible weapon from an old war.” 

She kept her explanation simple, not wanting Threepio’s myriad questions distracting from the task at hand. 

“I don’t see how something so large could be a weapon!” Threepio said. Rose waved her hand to Rey as if to say ‘I got this’, and began to quietly explain the history of the Imperial super weapon to the confused droid. 

“Are you sure the wayfinder’s there?” Finn asked Rey.

“I’m sure.”

“How do we find it?”

She drew the dagger from her bag. 

“Only this blade tells.” She recited quietly to herself. As she examined the knife closer, she noticed one sharp point close to the hilt was caked in what looked like dry blood. She pulled at it. The point gave with surprising ease, and slid out of the dagger, bringing with it a semi-circle strip of metal resembling a mathematical instrument.

Guided by the Force, Rey lifted up the jagged Sith dagger and tried to line it up with the ruins in the ocean. She extended her arm to the fullest and took two careful steps back. Finally, she managed to line the shape of the dagger up perfectly with the ruins of the Death Star, the small, bloody point near the hilt pointing at one of the chambers within. 

“There!” Rey said.

“How?” Finn asked, his jaw dropped.

“If I say ‘The Force’, are you going to want more of an explanation?” Rey asked, smiling slightly. 

“I don’t know why I bother asking.”

“I have to get to that wreck,” Rey called to Jannah. “There’s something inside we need.”

“There are skimmers down on the beach. I can take you there by water,” Jannah replied.

“What? In this?” Rose said, gesturing at the roiling waves and already looking a little green.

“Not now, but we can go at first light.”

“No!” Rey said, panic spiking. “We don’t have time.”

“We also don’t have a choice,” Poe said, his voice harsher than usual. “Let’s fix that ship.”

“We’ve got spare parts,” Jannah said. “This way.”

The group followed her back the way they came, but Rey lingered by the cliff.

“Coming?” Finn asked. 

“Yeah, I’m right behind you!” Rey said. 

She waited until Finn was clear over the hill and out of sight before she slipped away towards the beach. The others may have been intimidated by the waves, but Rey had flown the Falcon through dangers other pilots only had nightmares about. A little salt water wasn’t going to stop her today. There was too much at stake. 

***

Finn was astonished to see that Jannah’s idea of “spare parts” was an entire arsenal of virtually new starship components. They picked through crates and cases looking for anything that would suit a ship as old as the Falcon. Rose and Poe, along with the droids, had already taken larger parts back to the ship to start the work. Finn stayed behind with Jannah, searching for the last few smaller parts they needed. He finally found something they could use, though something about it caught his eye.

“This is a First Order part,” he said, showing it to Jannah. “They’re…they’re all First Order parts!”

To his surprise, she didn’t look bothered by his realization, but instead nodded enthusiastically. 

“There’s an old cruiser on the West Edge that we stripped for parts. It’s the one we escaped in.”

“Escaped? Were you prisoners?”

Jannah shook her head. 

“Stormtroopers. Not by choice. We were all conscripted as kids. I was JN-1719.”

Finn laughed at the old method of self-identification he’d once been so used to. He offered a little mock wave.

“FN-2187.”

Jannah dropped the parts she was holding.

“You?! You’re FN-2187?”

“Wha- Yes?” Finn said, now panicking, and not entirely sure where this conversation was going. Was she with the First Order after all? A mole sent to drag him back, after all he’d done to get away?

“We heard about you. Whispers. Stories. The stormtrooper who was brave enough to defy Captain Phasma and run away!”

“People…people talked about me?” Finn said, unable to believe it.

“Not out loud, obviously. If superiors, or other stormtroopers got word of it, the ones who are really devoted to the First Order, anyone caught spreading the story would be sent to reconditioning. But you’re a hero, Finn. An inspiration.”

“I…no, not an inspiration. I just…did what I had to do.”

“You knew what you were being ordered to do wasn’t right, and you did something about it. You’re the reason my squad got away.”

“Really?”

“We’d all heard the stories of FN-2187, the stormtrooper who broke his conditioning. We decided then and there, that if ever we were ordered to fire on civilians, we would do what you did and leave. It finally happened, at the Battle of Ansett Island. The whole company laid down their weapons.”

“Because of me?”

“Because of you.”

***

Finn and Jannah returned to the Falcon with the last of the parts, Finn still glowing from his conversation with Jannah. The glow was quickly dampened once he realized something was off.

“Where’s Rey?” he asked.

“She isn’t with you?” Rose said, concern showing on her face. 

BB-8 and D-0 wheeled in, both beeping frantically.

“What do you mean you haven’t seen her?” Poe said, wiping his hands as he emerged from the maintenance hatch. 

The droids beeped again.

“She took a skimmer?” Jannah exclaimed.

They all ran out of the Falcon and towards the cliff they had stood on earlier. Sure enough, a small skimmer could be seen tossing about on the waves, being piloted by an even smaller figure, telltale tabard wraps and brown hair blowing in the wind.

“What the hell was she thinking?” Poe all but shouted in frustration.

“Poe, we have to go after her!” Finn said. 

“We’ll fix the Falcon, then we’ll get over there as fast as we can.”

“We’re gonna lose her!”

“Hey,  _ she _ left  _ us _ . What do you wanna do? Swim?”

As they spoke, their voices got louder and louder. Likely sensing tension, Rose and Jannah backed away and headed back to the Falcon. 

“What the hell is the matter with you? You’ve been acting weird since we left the Star Destroyer.”

“ _ Me? _ I’ve been acting weird? She sits us down, tells us she killed her parents, says she doesn’t even remember doing it, and then you and Rose act like that doesn’t change things and  _ I’m _ the one acting weird?”

Finn was shocked. He had never imagined Poe to be so devoid of empathy. He felt his heart break a little. 

“Do you hear yourself? She didn’t know what she was doing.”

“How do we know it isn’t the ‘Dark side’ or whatever manifesting in her?”

“Leia trusts her. And Leia knows more about the Dark side than either of us.”

“Well I’m not Leia!” 

“That’s for damn sure,” Finn said, storming past Poe. 

“HEY!” Poe snapped, grabbing Finn’s arm. Despite the anger in his voice, his touch was gentle. 

“Do you have any idea what’s going through my head,” Poe said through gritted teeth. “I was in the Academy when my classmates started dropping out one by one to join up with the First Order, or when they started getting recruited. Do you have any idea at all what it’s like to not know who you can trust on your team, because they might turn on you? Not wanting to grow close to anyone, in case the next time you see them it’ll be on opposite sides of a war?”

“Yeah, I do,” Finn said, quietly. “I grew up in a place where punishment for nonconformity meant reconditioning. Where you only got sent for reconditioning when a classmate ratted you out.”

Poe’s face softened at once.

“Finn, I-”

But Finn pressed on.

“And now I have the person I care about most in the galaxy telling me he doesn’t trust my best friend, so yeah I think I have an idea what that’s like.”

Poe let go of Finn as though he’d been burned. 

“The person you-” Poe started to say.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Jannah said, absolutely interrupting a moment that was about to become very awkward. “We have a second skimmer, Finn. I can take you now if you’d like.”

Finn followed her without a backwards glance at Poe. Had he really just told Poe he cared about him more than anyone else in the galaxy? Not that that was untrue, of course. It was. It had been the entire reason he and Rose managed to break up amicably. His heart was simply elsewhere. He’d meant to tell him in a more private, possibly less angry setting. Rose was not going to be amused when he told her. She’d firmly supported his desire to tell Poe how he felt, and he’d definitely just messed that up: once he’d - inadvertently - confessed his feelings, Poe had let go right away. Of course he didn’t feel the same. Finn followed Jannah onto the skimmer and tried to put the awkwardness out of his mind. He should set the record straight with Poe, walk back what he’d said, and try to salvage their friendship. Above all else, he wanted to save their friendship. Once he got Rey back, of course.

*** 

_ The person I care about most in the galaxy _ .

The words rang through Poe’s head long after Finn had departed with Jannah. Did that really mean what he thought it meant?

Poe thought how he felt about Finn had always been fairly obvious. The joking around, giving him his jacket, the fact that Poe managed to wrangle the same work rotations as Finn when they were all at base. But that was all Poe acting on a one-sided crush, or so he’d thought. He’d never seriously entertained the idea that Finn felt the same, that his attraction was reciprocated. First he’d thought Finn was attracted to Rey. Then Finn started seeing Rose, and that seemed to put an end to Poe’s speculation. But then their sudden breakup…

_ The person I care about most in the galaxy _ .

It couldn’t be. After all, hadn’t he just caught Finn and Rey locked in an embrace back on the Falcon? That was probably why Finn had ended things with Rose. He slowly made his way back to the Falcon, still lost in thought. 

For one thing, he was older than Finn. True, 11 years wasn’t much, but there were so many others closer to Finn’s own age, he’d probably prefer that anyway. 

_ The person I care about most in the galaxy _ .

It was true, they’d grown closer over the last year, and there had been many times where their eyes remained locked or their hands had lingered near the others for just a moment longer than was appropriate for a platonic friendship. Poe thought this had all been in his own head, but was now faced with the prospect that Finn might reciprocate his feelings. Poe chastised himself for getting lost in his own imagination again. As he stepped on to the Falcon’s boarding ramp, he looked back towards the beach, half hoping to see Finn already returning so they could continue this discussion. He knew the anticipation for their next conversation was going to be the longest wait of his life.

***

Rey guided the skiff towards the Death Star. Docking underneath the chamber she needed was nearly impossible, and would have meant a free climb up hundreds of meters of slick metal. She navigated around to the far side of the wreck, where one of the chambers had been blasted open and rested halfway in the water, an ersatz dock for her little boat. 

She could make neither heads nor tails of the inside of the structure. She supposed that it had once looked much like a Star Destroyer, all industrial corridors and utilitarian rooms. Now, hardly any doors or walls remained. The structure was essentially a shell held together by an impossibly strong frame. 

Half decayed furnishings lay strewn around as Rey cautiously picked her way across the slippery floor towards the centre of the structure. Though she had a vague sense of where the chamber she sought was located, she felt as though she were being guided by some presence outside of herself. Something beckoned to her, its call resonating in her head like music. But if the Force manifested itself as a high and clear sound, like birdsong or wind chimes, this was altogether different. It was haunting and seductive with just a hint of danger, and Rey found herself inexplicably drawn to it. 

She reached a large door, somehow still intact. The song in her head was the loudest and most irresistible it had been since she had arrived on the Death Star, and she knew for certain the source was just beyond. She pressed a likely looking button, and the old doors slid open with a loud creak and a hiss, signalling their age. 

The vast chamber in which she stood was, no doubt, a throne room. Palpatine’s, it must have been. An ominous black throne sat, half broken below a massive shattered circular window. Shards of glass littered the floor still and crunched under Rey’s feet. If the wayfinder was anywhere, it would be here. 

_ Rey. Rey. _

Rey cast her eyes around, looking for the source of the mysterious voice. Another set of doors lay just to the left of the throne. The moment she focused her attention on it, the sound seemed to amplify.

_ Rey. Rey. _

Perhaps it was the wayfinder calling out to her. She tentatively walked up to the doors, which slid open unprompted. She stepped forward so quickly, it was almost as though she’d been yanked by an invisible hand, and she was immediately plunged into darkness. 

***

A lone woman stood at an indeterminable distance in front of Rey. She seemed to be standing in a thicket of trees. Just beyond, Rey could make out a few dilapidated, burning structures that looked vaguely like their base on Ajan Kloss. Though she wore all black, the woman was dressed in an approximation of Rey’s own outfit. The mysterious woman lowered her hood, and Rey was startled to find that the woman she saw was herself. Though this woman was virtually identical to Rey, she did notice one key difference: her eyes were no longer dark brown, but a startling shade of yellow rimmed with red. Around her stood a squad of Stormtroopers, their armour a bright, sickening red instead of the usual white. In front of each of them were human prisoners on their knees, bags over their heads. The guards removed the coverings one by one, revealing faces that Rey held near and dear to her heart. Connix. Snap. Rose. Poe. Finn. Leia. Each of them looked worse for wear, as though they had fought and lost. 

“This galaxy,” said the Rey in black, “This conflict. It took everything from me. It left me orphaned on a harsh, cruel world. It left me half-starved for most of my life. And when I finally thought I’d found purpose and belonging, the so-called heroes propped me up as their poster child.” 

“Rey,” Leia began to say.

“No!” she shouted. “For too long, the innocent have been swept up in this galactic conflict, used as pawns and collateral in a fight that does not concern them. But no more. It is time to let the past die. It is time to remake the galaxy, to have it led by those who would not allow the innocent to suffer. To eliminate all traces of Palpatine’s Empire, the First Order, the Rebellion.”

She glanced around at those who waited before her on their knees, her face not registering any trace of recognition.

“My offer is this,” she continued, projecting her voice to all those who doubtless waited out of sight. “Renounce the Resistance and stand with the new Sith Empire, and your life will be spared. Fail to do so, and you will meet the consequences. It is, unfortunately, too late for your leaders.”

At that, she drew a lightsaber from her belt and activated it. Two red blades shone in parallel. She flicked her wrist, and one of the blades swung back so that she now held a double bladed, staff-length saber. She spun it once in her hand, then raised it as if to strike. 

Rey screwed her eyes shut. But the sound of a TIE fighter screaming overhead forced her eyes open again. She scanned the blackness above, but saw nothing. The sound had distracted the Other Rey too, because she deactivated her saber and turned to face the source of the noise.

“Deal with this,” she spat at the troopers, as she walked away.

As though she were watching a holorecording, Rey found that her focus remained on the Other Rey. The others in the clearing fading into darkness, though not before Rey heard the sounds of blaster bolts firing out and bodies hitting the ground. She felt sick to her stomach.

The Other Rey came to a stop a few meters away. A voice spoke to her through the darkness. 

“Is it done, my Empress?”

Rey recognized the voice. She would know that voice anywhere. Which meant she was not at all surprised to see Kylo Ren emerge from the shadows and stand a scant few inches in front of the Other Rey. He was dressed in his usual black as well, though the clothes were much finer than his usual garb. He also wore a version of his old helmet, reforged and held together with a bright crimson resin that stood out like angry, fresh scars.

“It is, my Lord.” The Other Rey said, tilting her face up to his. She raised both of her hands, and using the Force, removed his helmet and set it gently down on the ground.

He raised one hand and stroked her cheek.

“Your abilities have improved considerably, my dear,” he said, a small smile on his handsome face. His eyes, like those of the Other Rey, were also yellow rimmed with red.

“I had a good teacher,” The Other Rey said, idly running her fingers through his hair. 

At the obvious tenderness between the two of them, Rey felt an involuntary flutter in her stomach. The scenario reminded her of a dream she had had not long ago, one that made her wake up suddenly, sweating feverishly. Of course, in that dream, it had been Ben Solo who had come to her, ready to fight for the Resistance. In that dream, none of her friends had died fighting for what was right, and she certainly hadn’t been the one to order their executions. Remembering what she’d seen through the trees, what the Other Rey had done, she felt sick once again, and all romantic notions vanished from her mind.

“Our work is only beginning. Are you ready for the challenges ahead?” Kylo Ren asked his Empress.

“If I’d only taken your hand sooner, this would have been over by now.” She whispered in reply.

“Not to mention,” Kylo Ren said, his voice tender. “I could have done this a lot sooner.”

He dipped his head down and kissed the Other Rey’s neck as she wrapped her arms around his, pressing their bodies closer together. She tilted her head further back, closed her eyes and sighed. 

Rey couldn’t look away, the butterflies in her stomach waging war with the sadness and fear in her heart. Then suddenly Other Rey’s eyes snapped open and locked with hers. 

Suppressing the urge to scream, Rey took two panicked steps backward and tripped. She tumbled onto her back, right out of the little room. She landed on the floor of the throne room, and rolled onto her front carefully to avoid the broken glass. As she stood, she found herself standing face to face with the real Kylo Ren, his clothing that of a Knight of Ren, not an Emperor. A wayfinder was clutched in his gloved hand.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, enemies to lovers and friends to lovers are such different beasts, but both full of so much angst. 
> 
> Thanks you so much for reading! If you liked it, let me know!


	8. Turn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Rey, this isn’t like you,” Kylo Ren said. “I’m not the one you’re angry at.”
> 
> “What would you know about it?”
> 
> “I know what you’re going through. And I know you.”
> 
> There it was. Yet another person claiming to know Rey better than she knew herself. Finn, and by extension Poe and Rose. Leia, probably. And now Kylo Ren. 
> 
> “People keep telling me they know me!” Rey shouted in frustration. “No one does!”
> 
> “But I do,” he insisted gently.

Rey shot to her feet and unhooked her lightsaber.

“What did you see in there?” Kylo Ren asked curiously.

“What do you want?” Rey shot back.

“Whatever it was, it clearly rattled you. Did you go in there looking for this?”

He held the wayfinder in front of her face. Rey attempted to quickly snatch it out of his hand. It was almost too easy. He took a step back, holding it aloft and out of her reach.

“Palpatine sent me here to kill you,” he said casually.

“So what are you waiting for?”

Rey activated her saber, circling Kylo like she was the hunter and he the prey. He fell into step in her circle, maintaining the distance at all times. 

“Look at yourself. So ready to give in to your anger. You wanted to prove to my mother, to the galaxy, that you’re the last hope for the Jedi. Instead you’ve proven something else. The Dark side is in our nature. It’s a part of who we are. Surrender to it.”

“Never. We’re nothing alike,” Rey said angrily, though her face betrayed more than a trace of uncertainty.

“Of course we are. You know what the future holds for you, you just won’t say it. You can’t go back to Leia anymore. Like I can’t.”

The truth of his words hit him like an anvil to the chest. It was the first time he’d spoken this particular concern out loud. The memory of what he had done to his father haunted him, like a constant presence hovering just beyond the corner of his eye. He knew Leia Organa would never welcome the man who’d killed her husband back into the fold, even if that man was her son. They’d sensed each other in the Force only once, when he’d nearly fired on the bridge of the  _ Raddus _ a year ago. He’d sensed sadness and disappointment in her. He knew that as far as she was concerned, Ben Solo was as dead as his father.

Rey raised her lightsaber and pointed it at Kylo. 

“Give me the wayfinder.”

“Rey. Come to the Sith Temple with me. Let’s bring an end to Palpatine together, wipe the slate clean and build a new future where the Dark side is seen for advantage it is, not shamelessly hidden in the shadows.”

Something about what he’d said provoked a look of horror across Rey’s face.

“Give it. To me.” Rey said through gritted teeth, pointing at the wayfinder with her lightsaber.

Kylo squeezed the wayfinder in his hand, and was satisfied to feel it shatter in his grip. He opened his palm and let the broken pieces fall to the ground. Rey’s face clouded over with a rage he hadn’t seen since Snoke’s throne room.

“The only way you’re getting to Coruscant is with me.”

It dawned on him for only a moment that he had inadvertently revealed the location of the Sith temple. He didn’t have too long to dwell on his blunder, however, because Rey suddenly swung at him with her lightsaber.

***

Rey was keenly aware that attacking Kylo Ren while he was unarmed played right into the hands of the Dark side.

She found she didn’t much care.

She had been teetering on the edge of something incomprehensible from the moment she stumbled out of her vision. She’d been forced to bear witness to everything she’d ever feared about herself: her natural strength with the Force, her inner darkness manifesting as a result of that strength, and - most frightening of all - was the irresistible pull she felt towards Kylo Ren. She’d truly begun to feel something for him back on Ach-To. But the man who stood before her now, taunting her with the broken wayfinder was not the same man she’d known then. He’d seen to that by assuming the mantle of Supreme Leader. 

He’d never wanted her help. He’d never once considered coming back into the light. Rey felt stupid for even trying and she hated him for making her feel this way.

For him to then tell her the truth about her parents, when she’d gone on for so long not remembering, was the final straw. How dare he force her to remember? How dare he put her in this position? Rey saw red. He was right, of course. Leia would never take her back now. She’d lost the only friends she’d ever known and it was entirely his fault. She didn’t even care that he’d revealed the location of the temple, rendering the wayfinder useless. He was the cause of her suffering. And he would pay for it.

So she attacked.

She lunged forward, swinging her lightsaber at him. He backed up quickly and jumped through a hole in the floor that led outside. Rey was right behind him, leaping in recklessly, her lightsaber swinging. 

When she landed on the platform, she had a hard time making him out through the mist. The waves around them churned furiously, soaking the ground and concealing nearly all her surroundings. Then a faint red glow appeared, and the mist and spray cleared momentarily. Kylo Ren faced her, his lightsaber activated but lowered. Though they’d only been outside a few seconds, his hair was already plastered to his head, and she imagined hers was much the same. 

She brushed a few wayward strands out of her eyes and lunged again. He raised his arm only to deflect her strike, then assumed a defensive position. 

“Rey,” Kylo Ren called out over the roar of the waves. “You can fight it all you want, but you know I’m right. You know there’s no denying the darkness in you.”

They’d reached the end of the platform. In a logic-defying move, Kylo Ren leaped over the edge, landing on a similar platform just a few feet away. Rey backed up to give herself a running start. She followed Kylo Ren onto the second platform and took another wild, angry swing at him. 

“Rey, this isn’t like you,” Kylo Ren said. “I’m not the one you’re angry at.”

“What would you know about it?”

“I know what you’re going through. And I know  _ you _ .”

There it was. Yet another person claiming to know Rey better than she knew herself. Finn, and by extension Poe and Rose. Leia, probably. And now Kylo Ren. 

“People keep telling me they know me!” Rey shouted in frustration. “No one does!”

“But I do,” he insisted gently.

***

Jannah navigated the skiff towards the Death Star with ease despite the churning sea. Not that Finn was capable of noticing. He was half hanging out of the boat, scanning the derelict structure for any sign of his friend. He couldn’t believe she would be so reckless. She’d gone straight into danger yet again, with no backup whatsoever. Then again, this was becoming a trend with Rey, so Finn figured he was probably less surprised and more worried and frustrated than anything.

He scanned the structure for any sign of movement.

“There!” Jannah called. “I see something!”

Sure enough, someone had dropped onto the first of several exposed platforms. But that someone wasn’t Rey. Finn wiped the spray out of his eyes and squinted to try and get a sense of who was standing there. His question was answered seconds later, as the person activated a distinctive red lightsaber complete with cross guards. 

“That’s Kylo Ren!” Finn called back to Jannah.

“The Supreme Leader?” she said, fear in her voice. “Where’s Rey?”

“There!” Finn shouted, pointing. 

Sure enough, Rey had hopped down onto the platform right after Kylo Ren. She pressed her attack, swinging at him, searching in vain for an opening. 

She advanced until they reached the end of the platform. Ren leapt off the edge, landing on the next one over, but Rey was right behind him. 

“We have to get up there,” Finn said. 

“Have you lost your mind?” Jannah shouted. “I’m not getting involved in that!”

“I can’t just leave her!” Finn said, fighting tears of frustration. He whispered quietly to himself: “Rey.”

***

Rey could hear Finn’s voice speaking her name as clearly as if he stood directly beside her. But that was impossible, Finn couldn’t be here. Kylo Ren hadn’t once raised his weapon to attack so Rey risked a glance at her surroundings, just to be certain. 

Just off to her left, she could see a little something bobbing in the water: a skiff, much like the one she had taken here. Only this one bore two passengers. 

“Finn!” Rey cried out, moving towards the edge of the platform. “No, Finn, go back!”

“Rey!” He yelled, his voice at such a distance. “I won’t leave you!”

“Go back!”

She raised a hand, and calling on the Force, she summoned a small wave to push the skiff back towards the mainland.  Reassured that Finn was out of harm's way, she once again raised her lightsaber to Kylo Ren, who had been watching the whole exchange with a curious expression on his face.

***

Leia had been feeling sick all day. An overwhelming sadness had wrapped itself around her heart, leaving her emotionally drained, and physically incapable of being any use to anyone. She made her excuses to Lieutenant Connix and retired to her small, yet private bunk. 

Ben was in trouble, of that she was certain. If he continued down this path, it would kill him, sooner rather than later. Since the day she’d felt his presence through the Force on board the  _ Raddus _ , their connection had been somewhat reforged. Now, she could periodically sense when he was undergoing extreme emotional turmoil. She’d noticed in these moments that Rey wasn’t quite herself either. Though the girl hadn’t told her exactly what happened on board Snoke’s Star Destroyer, Leia knew enough to sense that Rey and Ben shared some kind of connection too. 

Something had been building in her all day. It was both a growing sense of fear for her son, and fear that if she didn’t act soon she would lose him forever. 

In the quiet of her bunk, Leia clutched a pair of golden sabacc dice on a chain. The trinket had once belonged to Han, and had been a favourite of Ben’s when he was small. It was the one tangible thing she had to connect her with the two of them. She only hoped that it would be enough. 

She lay down on her bed. Previous attempts to enter a Jedi’s meditative state had made her collapse, and she hadn’t actually been trying to reach anyone then. She was afraid that this time the effort would render her unconscious. A small part of her also wondered if the attempt would kill her, as Luke had died projecting himself across the galaxy. She reasoned that it was worth a try. From the moment he was born, she knew she would die for Ben if she had to, and she was prepared to make good on her word if it meant her son would live. 

Clutching the dice to her chest, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Though it had been a while since she’d tried to meditate in this way, it came easily to her. Even the Force seemed to realize how critical it was. 

Channeling her love for her son, she reached out into the Force. She could feel herself losing consciousness already. With her final conscious thought she called out his name.

_ Ben. _

***

As their fight wore on, Rey found herself increasingly angry at the absolute  _ nerve _ of Kylo Ren. 

She knew he was letting her tire herself out before he attacked. He was either going to kill her, or somehow manipulate her into joining him. She knew this without a shadow of a doubt, even though she couldn’t currently sense anything he was feeling. Her own anger had clouded everything else, like smoke from the fire that currently raged within her. No matter how she knew it, she also knew that she wasn’t going to let that happen. 

She attempted an overhead strike, which he deflected with practiced ease. 

She paused in her next attempt to strike when a new presence in the Force broke through her haze. 

_ Leia? _ Rey thought. For the voice definitely sounded like Leia. She spoke only one word:  _ Ben _

Kylo Ren turned to look behind him, perhaps sensing something was amiss. His grip slackened and his still active lightsaber fell from his hand.

Driven by pure instinct, Rey grabbed the saber and plunged it into his abdomen.

***

All he had to do was let her tire herself out. 

Kylo reasoned that she would eventually stop trying to lop his head off, at which point he might be able to get another word or two in edgewise. There were consequences when one half of a dyad killed the other, consequences she either didn’t know about or was currently attempting to exploit.

But he knew she wasn’t the type to want to exploit that particular advantage. She was angry, he could tell that much. But her heart was conflicted. She was angry at him, naturally, but also perhaps in denial and angry with herself. Whatever the reason, the Dark side flowed so strongly in her, he could practically see it coming off of her in waves. 

She attempted an overhead strike, which he deflected with practiced ease.

She was about to try the same move again when something stopped her. There was a new presence in the Force, one that was so achingly familiar it stopped Ben in his tracks. 

_ Mom? _ He thought, not mentally referring to her as “Leia” or “General Organa” for the first time in a long time. He could definitely feel his mother’s presence. It was so palpable, he turned back as though expecting to see her standing behind him, her face a perfect mask of affection and mild disappointment. 

In his distraction, he relaxed his grip on his lightsaber hilt, and it slipped from his hand. Moments later, he felt a burning sensation in his abdomen, a white hot pain that brought him back to reality. His eyes traveled down his body to see his lightsaber blade embedded in his gut, then up to see Rey, holding the hilt, a look of absolute horror on her face. 

She retracted the blade and let the hilt fall to the floor. Kylo felt his strength leaving him quickly, and suddenly found he lacked the energy to stand. He slid down to the ground and leaned against a protruding section of the platform. 

***

The moment Rey stabbed Kylo Ren with his own lightsaber, a couple of things happened very quickly.

First, the horrific reality of what she had done washed over her like the cold ocean water that surrounded them. She retracted the blade at once, and let the hilt fall to the ground. She’d wanted to stop him, of course. She might have even thought she wanted to kill him. But the moment that became reality, she realized how wrong she’d been. 

Second, as Kylo slid to the ground, his strength leaving him, Rey found herself feeling stronger than she had felt in a while. She felt as though her abilities were physically growing, if such a thing were even possible. Power coursed through her, like electricity, invigorating her. 

But while her body felt increasingly powerful, the thread that connected her soul to Kylo’s was being pulled taut. Her heart was breaking, her soul was crying out in pain. She understood at once that Kylo was dying.

Rey knelt beside him, and her eyes met his. Where before she had seen an emotionally wounded, angry man, right now all she saw was a very scared boy who knew he only had moments left to live. 

She tentatively reached towards the gaping hole in his abdomen, and laid a hand on it. Much as she had done with the serpent on Pasana, Rey closed her eyes and reached into the Force. She called on it, using it to not only bind his wound, but to restore the life force that was currently draining out of Kylo. 

Rey knew she had succeeded in healing his wounds both physical and spiritual, when Kylo took a huge gasping breath. The two of them exhaled at the same time, and Rey noticed they were now breathing in tandem. Though he was now getting his strength back, the healing had taken so much out of her that she felt dizzy. She swayed and nearly fell when a large hand shot out and grabbed her by the wrist. She steadied herself and saw that Kylo was holding onto her arm. The moment she no longer looked in danger of tipping over, his sudden burst of energy left him. He let go and returned his hand to his side. 

Rey couldn’t stay. She had to get to Coruscant and do something before it was too late. But she didn’t want to leave Kylo here without acknowledging the impact their connection had had on her. Until this moment, it had mostly been him stressing the importance of their bond, while she tried to figure out her place in the conflict and the galaxy at large. If these were to be her last words to Kylo Ren, she wanted them to mean something. She looked into his eyes.

“I did want to take your hand,” she said quietly, tears pricking the corner of her eyes. “Ben’s hand.”

She stood. Kylo looked up at her with the same frightened, confused expression he’d worn since she’d stabbed him. Rey knew if she didn’t leave right then, she would stay by his side until it was too late. With a deep sigh of regret for what should have been, but without a backwards glance, Rey ran down the platform and back towards the Death Star.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At last, at long last, my Reylo is showing. Y'all this movie really did not do them any favours when it came to conversation time. 
> 
> Thank you for reading as always!


	9. Strength

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You could feel her?” Poe asked, incredulous. “You mean with the Force?”
> 
> Through everything the two had been together, Poe couldn’t recall a time where he’d seen Finn look this scared. Finn looked down at the table and said nothing.
> 
> “Finn,” Poe pressed. “Are you trying to say you can feel people through the Force?”
> 
> “I don’t know,” Finn whispered. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know what, it's Canadian Thanksgiving today, so why not post another chapter? :)

Kylo Ren had long felt that as long as he was with Rey, he was on the right path. His mind, twisted as it had been by Palpatine, took this to mean that he ought to be with her by any means necessary. Since he wasn’t strong enough to reject the Dark, he spent his time and energy trying to bring her to it. Time wasted, really, since his life was now coming to a slow, painful end on the rain soaked platform of a derelict battle station. 

He rested his back against a raised part of the platform. He tried to focus on his breathing, but found it nearly impossible to draw breath. The extreme pain in his abdomen was blinding. His vision was starting to blur. Kylo Ren was indeed dying.

Whatever trick of the Force that had brought his mother to him was long gone, but still he could sense another presence. 

Rey.

She knelt beside him, tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. He took the time to study her. He’d always felt a spiritual connection to her, and been in awe of her strength with the Force. But how had he never fully appreciated how beautiful she was? He refused to look away from her face, figuring if she was the last thing he was going to see, then he would look until his eyes closed forever. 

She placed a hand over his stomach and closed her eyes in concentration. Kylo then felt the strangest sensation, as though someone were pouring cool, fresh water directly onto his wound. The intense pain began to ebb. He didn’t dare move, save for a small peek down at her hand. His wound was closing up, the patch of skin visible under his clothing didn’t even bear a scar.. At last when both his body and his soul felt complete once more, he took a very deep breath. Rey exhaled as he did, and the two of them began breathing in tandem, their connection stronger than it had ever been before. 

Rey tipped over and nearly fell from the effort of healing him. Acting on instinct, he threw out his arm and caught her, holding her upright. Once she regained her balance, he withdrew his arm, the movement having taken a lot out of him.

Rey hesitated a moment, then looked him right in the eyes.

“I did want to take your hand,” she said, sounding more vulnerable than he’d ever heard before. “Ben’s hand.”

As she ran back down the platform and away from him, he sat there reeling. 

_ Ben’s hand? She would have taken Ben’s hand? _

***

Finn hovered outside the Millennium Falcon, scanning the horizon for Rey. Poe was inside keeping the ship primed to take off at a moments notice, meaning he couldn’t leave the cockpit until they were in the air. For the moment, Finn preferred it that way, as he was currently in no mood to continue the conversation he’d accidentally started before leaving. 

He’d come back cold and miserable from his attempt to rescue Rey. Not to mention, he was thoroughly terrified for his friend. Though a part of him could feel that she was still alive, he would have no way of knowing if that were true until he saw her appear on the horizon. He kept his eyes fixed on the spot he’d seen her last, as though staring harder would make her materialize out of thin air.

“Where to next for you, then?” Jannah asked, breaking his concentration.

“Back to base,” Finn said, still looking to the horizon. “Gotta figure out our next move.”

“Still nothing?” Rose asked, joining them outside. Finn shook his head.

“Your next move, you mean how to stop Palpatine?” Jannah pressed.

“Palpatine’s just one part. We need to burn the entire First Order down.” Rose said, notes of passion rising in her voice.

“Come with us!” Finn said suddenly, finally looking at Jannah. 

“What?”

“Look, you all left the First Order for a reason. You wanted to stand up to what they’re doing because you know it’s wrong. Help us stop them.”

“I-” Jannah had the air of someone who was doing a lot of thinking very quickly. Uncertainty rolled off of her in waves, only to suddenly be replaced by resolution.

“Yeah. Alright. I’ll…uh…I’ll gather my crew and meet you at your base.”

“Here,” Rose said, handing Jannah a data card. “Coordinates and clearance for access to our base.”

“How did you know?”

“Finn said you’d be needing it.” 

Jannah looked genuinely touched. The moment was broken when Poe came running halfway down the ramp.

“TIE fighter, incoming! Let’s go!”

They had barely registered the scream of the TIE fighter when it passed overhead and flew away, totally ignoring them.

“You think they didn’t see us?” Rose asked.

“Or they’re coming back around,” Poe said.

Finn shook his head. His heart was breaking as the truth of it all hit him. 

“No. Rey was in there. She’s leaving us.”

“What?” Rose said.

“We gotta go!” Poe called. “We’re running out of time!”

“I’ll meet you at your base!” Jannah said, mounting her ride and taking off at full speed.

“Finn, let’s go!” Poe yelled from the ramp.

But Finn could only stare at the patch of sky where the TIE had flown overhead. His best friend had gone and left him here, had abandoned the fight. She hadn’t been herself for a while, he knew that much. But Finn had always felt without a doubt that Rey was the type to do the right thing. To not give up the fight. As he reluctantly boarded the Millennium Falcon, he began to consider that he might not know Rey as well as he thought he did.

***

Though the trip back to Ajan Kloss was not technically very long, to Poe it felt endless. 

Rose had quickly informed him that Jannah and her squad would be meeting them back at base, before returning to the minor repairs she had started while waiting for Finn to return. BB-8 and D-0, on instruction from Poe, were keeping C-3P0 occupied elsewhere because the droid had been getting on his nerves. Chewie was still recovering from injuries sustained on board the Imperial ship, so he sat in his co-pilot seat and attended to his tasks quietly.

Then there was Finn. He’d stormed angrily aboard, his clothes still cold and damp. So Poe had left him alone. Once he’d changed, he left his bunk and wandered the corridors aimlessly briefly, before finally settling down at the dejarik table. Poe threw the Falcon into autopilot then slipped out and joined him. 

The two men sat quietly for a few minutes. Finally, Poe couldn’t take the silence anymore.

“So…what happened?”

“I dunno,” Finn muttered.

“Finn.”

“Look, what do you want me to say? I get there, she’s fighting Ren and sends me away. Violently. Next thing I know she’s flying away with Ren in his TIE Fighter.”

“But you don’t know that they were actually on board.”

“She was,” Finn said with certainty. “I could feel her.”

“You could  _ feel her? _ ” Poe asked, incredulous. “You mean with the Force?”

Through everything the two had been together, Poe couldn’t recall a time where he’d seen Finn look this scared. Finn looked down at the table and said nothing.

“Finn,” Poe pressed. “Are you trying to say you can feel people through the Force?”

“I don’t know,” Finn whispered. 

Poe sat back in his seat and exhaled deeply.

“I used to think it was just really good instinct,” Finn continued, on a roll now. “I could always read people better than most. It was why…why Phasma thought I had such potential. Thought I could lead my own Legion of stormtroopers one day. It’s the feeling that gave me the courage to defect when I knew in my heart what we were doing was wrong. It’s the feeling that led me to you that day we escaped from the Star Destroyer. The day we met.”

Poe brightened a bit at this, though he tried not to let it show on his face. So Finn had fond memories of that day too. A promising sign, if they ever decided to revisit the conversation they had on Kef Bir.

“Lately though,” Finn said, after a short pause, “the feeling is mostly concentrated around Rey. It’s like she’s this beacon I can’t help but see and be aware of at all times.”

Ah.

Rey.

Right.

Finn probably only held his escape from the Star Destroyer dear because it was that event that had led him to Rey. Poe knew that Finn valued his friendship, and resolved to be content with that from now on. Because if Rey was his  _ beacon _ …

Well. There was just no competing with that.

***

Allegiant General Nash Windrunner stood in the quiet of his massive office. All the lights save for the emergency ones had been switched off.

He steeled himself then pressed a simple series of buttons on his holotable. The door flew open and one of Palpatine’s sentinels entered. The door slid shut behind it. He dropped to one knee, as he always did when speaking to one of his master’s emissaries. 

“Your princess has disturbed my plans,” the Sentinel drawled.

“She’s  _ not _ my princess,” Nash spat. 

The Sentinel laughed softly. 

“Your devotion to the Empire remains, then?”

“Always, my lord.”

“In any case, never mind her foolishness. It will be in vain. Come to me on Coruscant, let the Galaxy feel the might of the Empire once more.”

“What of Kylo Ren? What of his scavenger, and the other rebels?”

“Once our plan is set in motion, they will come to us. I have no doubt. But Windrunner, if you see the former Supreme Leader, you are to leave him to me.”

“My service is yours, your highness, as it has always been.” At this, Nash inclined his head further.

“Good. Have the rest of your fleet stand by. We will launch coordinated attacks on worlds that still dare resist the First Order. For now, send one ship to a world they know. Show no restraint.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Rise, Supreme Leader Windrunner.”

Nash rose to his feet, lifted by the surprise and elation that accompanied his new title. The sentinel departed and Nash was alone once more.

He pressed another key on his holotable.

“Sir?” came the voice of one of Nash’s trusted generals.

“Send a single Destroyer to Kijimi. Tell the captain to fire at will. Let the planet burn.”

There was the slightest hesitation before a reply came.

“Yes, sir.” The general said.

_ Supreme Leader Windrunner _ Nash repeated in his head.  _ At last. _

***

Finn was feeling very awkward as the Falcon approached Ajan Kloss. He’d actually confessed his suspicions that he might have the Force to Poe. And Poe had been…shockingly understanding. At least, that was the impression he got. He’d long since stopped trying to read Poe’s feelings, since they always seemed to fluctuate, at least when Finn was around. 

But no, it wasn’t the confession that left Finn feeling awkward. It was the confirmation that Poe understood what Finn had accidentally told him on Kef Bir, and that he didn’t feel the same. When Poe hadn’t immediately brought up Finn’s admission once they were both back onboard the Falcon, he’d chalked this up to a bit of uncharacteristic tact. But then during their conversation Finn had tried subtly segueing into the subject. He’d told Poe that he believed the Force had brought them together, then waited what felt like hours for Poe to make the next move. When he hadn’t, he’d hastily brought up Rey to change the subject, not wanting to linger in the awkwardness any longer. 

Not that anything he’d said about Rey was untrue. But had Poe taken the conversation in a different direction, Finn might not have been inclined to bring his friend up at all. 

They’d all agreed that Poe, as the de facto leader, ought to be the one to bring Leia up to speed. With the repairs made to the landing gear, their arrival was far smoother than the last time they’d tried to land the Falcon. The boarding ramp had hardly touched the ground before Poe, Finn, and Rose bolted down and ran straight into Larma D’Acy, a Resistance Commander and an old friend of Leia’s. 

“Commander, we need to see the General,” Poe said after a hurried apology to the older woman.

“Poe, something’s happened,” D’Acy replied. Finn noted that she sounded shaken and her eyes were rimmed with red. 

“This can’t wait,” Rose said.

D’Acy just shook her head.

“Commander, what’s happened to Leia?” Finn asked. Rose and Poe looked at him in surprise. If D’Acy was thrown off in any way by Finn’s question, she didn’t show it. Instead, she just quietly said:

“She’s dying.”

Through his own sadness, and that of his friends, Finn felt another being be overtaken by grief.

At D’Acy’s words, Chewbacca let out an almighty roar, dropped all the equipment he held, then fell to his knees weeping and howling. His pain was so overwhelming, it had nearly taken on a physical form. Finn felt sadness emanate off of Chewie in giant waves that threatened to throw him off balance. He tried to place a hand on the Wookie’s shoulder, but Chewie waved his massive arm and brushed Finn aside. He doubled over, his grief attracting curious glances from all nearby.

Poe, too, was affected deeply by this, and for the first time in a long time, Finn was able to sense what his friend was going through. Where Finn sensed pure sadness in Chewie, Poe’s feelings were more akin to panic. Voice shaking, Poe finally spoke:

“Where is she?”

***

On the sands of Jakku, on the outskirts of Niima Outpost, lay an old Imperial Walker. In the years since it had fallen in battle, it had been picked clean by scavengers until one day, one scavenger stayed and decided to make it her home. 

In the year since that scavenger had followed a BB unit into town and onto an adventure, the walker had lain forgotten, even by those whose job it was to make sure nothing of value was lost to the harsh unforgiving sands of Jakku. The metal continued to erode. The hinges filled with grit. The door was nearly covered by sand, rendering it inaccessible to all but the most determined. 

In the skies above the walker, a TIE fighter circled. The vehicle had clearly been pushed to its limits. It was tilting to one side and the flight path was uneven. This TIE, like all other vehicles that ventured this far out in the desert, was on its last legs. It landed just beyond the walker, the breeze created by its landing blowing half of the sand away from the walkers door. The hatch opened and out popped the scavenger, home at last after her adventure in the stars.

Rey shifted the remaining sand away from the door and manually forced it open. The sun was still high overhead and she was desperate to get out of the oppressive heat. Too much time spent among the Resistance, who favoured climate control when they could get it and shadier planets when they couldn’t, meant that Rey was no longer equipped to withstand Jakku in the daytime.

She retreated into the slightly cooler interior of the Imperial Walker she’d once called home. A cynical part of her wondered if the reason she felt so at home in the old war machine was because she’d spent the first few years of her life living among Imperial monstrosities. 

Putting those thoughts aside before anger overwhelmed her, Rey decided to strategize. The first thing she would need was food and water. She began rummaging through her old belongings, looking for things she thought might sell down at the outpost. There wasn’t much to go through, as she’d always been careful not to hoard anything that might mean the difference between meager portions and enough food to risk a second helping. Once she’d set aside a few old ship components she thought might fetch a price, she checked inside and underneath any fixture she could think of. 

She found a small box that she’d slid underneath her makeshift table and opened it. Inside she found her little handmade Rebel Pilot doll some well-meaning villager had given her as a child. As she picked it up to examine, she heard the sound of two smaller items rolling down the box. When she discovered the source of the sound, she dropped the doll in surprise. 

At the bottom of the box lay only two more items: a pair of identical, translucent stones that Rey now recognized as kyber crystals. She remembered the day she’d found these, at Palpatine’s old Observatory nearby. Or rather, she remembered the day they’d found her. She’d been scavenging near the former Imperial facility, when she’d felt something in the room call out to her. By then she was old enough to know not to tell anyone else that something in the Observatory was “speaking” to her, but she was curious enough to investigate. She’d uncovered these twin kyber crystals in what looked like a laboratory, and snatched them up without a backwards glance. 

She found over the years, any time she’d been desperately hungry, that she still couldn’t bring herself to take the crystals to Unkar Plutt. Not being able to find a use for them, she’d stuck them in an old box and forgotten about them. But although the child Rey could find no use for them, the adult Rey knew exactly what to do. It was as though the crystals themselves refused to go, knowing she would return to them one day.

She sat cross-legged on the floor and removed her own lightsaber - the one constructed from pieces of her old staff - and set it down in front of her. She’d designed the saber to be double bladed, and so had left two slots for kyber crystals. She wondered briefly if she’d done so on purpose, if some unconscious part of her remembered the crystals she’d left behind on Jakku. She tried not to remember her vision on the Death Star, where her Sith counterpart had also wielded a double-bladed saber.

She was never going to use the Force again, she knew that much. She would live out the rest of her days here, so everyone she cared about would be safe from the darkness that was rising in her at alarming speeds. After all, she’d nearly killed the man she’d been harbouring some kind of feelings for in a fit of rage. She’d killed her parents. She’d almost made Finn drown. She let fear and anger dominate her emotions, and the people around her got hurt. She was a monster. Who knew what else the Dark side would make her do? But she reasoned that living somewhere as harsh as Jakku would require her to have a weapon, and a double bladed lightsaber was as good as any. 

This, then, would be the last time that Rey of Jakku used the Force.

She closed her eyes and felt for her saber in the Force. She had never done this before but in that moment she felt herself moved by instinct. Guided by the Force, the pieces of her saber came apart one by one. The crystals rose and oriented themselves within the chassis. Once they were placed, Rey oriented the other components so they would sit exactly as they had before. Her task completed, the finished saber fell into her hands. A new life hummed through the object, and Rey was tempted to test it out. She slipped outside into the late afternoon, finding the heat a bit more bearable. She moved slightly away from the door, assumed a fighting stance, and activated the emitter.

Nothing.

She flicked at the switch a couple more times, flipped the saber around, and shook it as though it were an unruly piece of equipment. How could she have thought herself capable of constructing a lightsaber? She had failed. She’d done the right thing by coming here, the galaxy was better off. Clearly, she was not, and never had been, a Jedi.

Roaring in frustration, she fell to her knees and threw the saber as far as it would go. Which, it turned out was not very far. A figure had suddenly appeared before her and caught the saber in its hand. 

The ghost of Luke Skywalker took a step forwards, extending Rey’s lightsaber towards her, and said with his characteristically dry tone:

“What are you  _ doing _ ?”

***

The young man stood on the edge of a platform that sat beyond the ruins of the second Death Star. He gazed out at the churning ocean below and contemplated his next move. 

It was clear that the First Order wouldn’t take him back. He knew he’d lost his title and his position, not that he’d ever wanted either. He didn’t even want to go back to the First Order. All he’d really ever wanted was a sense of belonging and acceptance. Palpatine, Snoke, the Dark side itself had twisted his mind to the point that giving himself over to the darkness seemed like the only way to achieve those things. That spell had been broken the moment he’d been brought back from the cusp of death.

So what could he do now? The only living person who had ever understood him, who had seen the monster that raged inside and tried to help him, was off to face Palpatine alone. In leaving him here, she made it clear she wanted nothing to do with him. She might have been the other half of his soul, but at this moment, the young man in black had no idea who he was himself. 

He could feel the tendrils of the Dark side leaving him, and for the first time in a long time, he felt his mind clear. He felt in touch with the Light side of the Force once more. But if that were the case, who did that make him? He couldn’t go back to the life he had before Kylo Ren had come in and stolen it all from him. 

He felt a stirring behind him, the usual indication that his uncle had come to chat, or just to haunt him. He was in no mood to converse with the man, and he certainly didn’t want to hear any I-told-you-so’s. 

“Hey, kid,” a gruff, familiar voice said from behind him.

The young man inhaled sharply, tears springing unbidden to his eyes. Of all the voices he’d ever expected to hear again, he’d never imagined getting to hear this one.

The young man turned and found himself looking at Han Solo, looking exactly the same as he had the day Kylo Ren killed him.

The young man took a few shaky breaths, not daring to speak in case it shattered this illusion. Because this was definitely an illusion. 

“I miss you, son,” Han Solo said, looking at the young man with nothing but tenderness in his eyes.

_ Son.  _ This poor man. He had no idea.

“Your son is dead,” the young man said, shaking his head.

Han Solo chuckled softly.

“No. Kylo Ren is dead. My son is alive.”

Hearing his father say these words affected the young man more than he’d expected. The pang of grief he’d pushed away after killing his father came rushing in now, threatening to overwhelm him. Or perhaps it already had. After all, he was conversing with an apparition. Han Solo had not been able to use the Force. There was no way he could be here unless -

“You’re just a memory,” he said, trying to dismiss the older man that stood before him. 

Han solo nodded.

“ _ Your _ memory. Come home.”

Home.

What was the point? What was there to go back to but a group of people who could not, and would not ever trust him. Not that he would blame any of them. The only people worth going back for were Rey, who’d made her feelings clear when she left him here, and for his mother, who lay at death’s door.

“It’s too late,” the young man said, looking down. They’re gone.”

“They’re not gone,” Han Solo replied. “Neither is what they stand for, what they fight for. It’s not too late.”

The young man blinked furiously, tears coursing down his face. He replayed the last time he’d spoken to his father. If he was remembering it now, then Han Solo must be experiencing the same memory. The fact was confirmed when the older man looked at him, sadness lining his face.

“Ben,” Han Solo said gently.

“I know what I have to do, but I don’t know if I have the strength to do it,” the young man said,  repeating the same words he’d spoken what felt like a lifetime ago.

His father reached out and gently touched his face, just as he’d done moments after being stricken down by his son. 

“You do,” Han Solo said.

In reliving his last conversation with his father, Ben Solo knew there was no staunching the grief that now flowed from his heart. Sobbing silently now, he looked into his father’s eyes.

“Dad?” Ben started to say.

Han smiled in that tender, crooked way Ben remembered so well from his childhood.

“I know,” Han said.

Ben sighed and reached up to his neck. He unclasped his cloak, the mantle of Supreme Leader, the sign of a title he’d never wanted, and let it fall to the ground. When he looked back up, his father was nowhere to be seen. But no matter.

He shed the thick doublet and leather gloves characteristic of the Knights of Ren. It was time to let his old life die. 

Filled with a lightness and renewed sense of purpose, Ben Solo took off at a run, determined to find his way off this moon. He was going to Coruscant. He knew what he had to do, and with his father’s forgiveness fuelling him, knew that he had the strength to do it. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This year, I'm thankful for each and every one of you who has taken the time to read my little story. Means more than you know! And thankful of course for theskiddlyboop who enables my fan fiction addiction and proofreads everything I write


	10. Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ”But, Rey, just because you have darkness in your past, does not mean you’re beyond hope of redemption, or that you cannot fight for the Light.”
> 
> Though his words were no doubt wise, Rey couldn’t let go of the realization that Luke knew her whole story.
> 
> “You know about my parents?”
> 
> “I do. Becoming one with the Force has…certain advantages.”
> 
> “Does Leia know? Did you tell her?” 
> 
> Rey buried her face in her hands. Leia would truly never be able to look her in the eye now, not with her parents blood on her hands. 
> 
> “She doesn’t. This is your story to tell. I’m done meddling in the lives of my students.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I've updated the tags to include brief mentions of abuse and torture, just so you're aware. It's nothing but offhand mentions, but the last thing I want to do is make anyone uncomfortable!
> 
> I really don't go into any kind of detail, but if it's something you'd like to avoid entirely, just skip the Hux section!

Poe stared at the display on the holotable, not wanting to believe the horrific scene unfolding in front of him. Beside him stood Rose, Connix, Snap Wexley and Commander D’Acy. They all watched in rapt horror as the display looped footage of the planet Kijimi, fine one moment, ablaze the next. 

“How?” Poe asked, shocked. “When?”

“Just now.” Commander D’Acy said.

“But that’s just a regular Star Destroyer,” Snap said, shaking his head in confusion. “How did it cause that much damage, unless-”

“Unless every ship in Palpatine’s fleet has planet-killing weapons.” Poe finished grimly. 

Connix, who had been half listening to the radio communications suddenly threw off her  headset, impossibly loud feedback and static pouring out of the earpieces. Any attempt to adjust the volume was fruitless. Once the static had cleared a repeated message played loud enough for all to hear.

_ “The Resistance is dead. The Sith flame will burn. All worlds, surrender or be destroyed. The Second Empire begins” _

Rose rushed over and tried a different frequency. No matter what she tried, all they heard was the same terrible message over and over. 

“This is it,” Rose said. “It’s begun. What now, Commander D’Acy?”

“Oh, that’s not my call,” she said. “Leia made Poe acting General.”

Poe felt the earth shift under his feet. He felt like the air had been pulled from his lungs. Him?

“Me?” he asked, weakly. She smiled warmly in return.

“Mmm. She said that you remind her so much of herself that should anything happen to her, she wanted to know that everyone else would be in the best hands possible.”

Poe needed time to process. He chastised himself that even now, at this critical stage, praise from his mentor sent him reeling like a school kid. Then again, perhaps it was the urgency of their situation that made Leia’s words so impactful. She was entrusting the survival of her cause, her people, to him. He needed to say something, give an order. They were all looking at him so expectantly. 

“Gather everyone. We meet by the Falcon’s boarding ramp in 15 minutes.”

***

“Master Skywalker?”

Rey stared, stunned into silence. He extended the lightsaber towards her again. She stood and took it from him. She continued to look at him wordlessly, wondering why he’d suddenly decided to appear before her.

“Well?” he asked. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Rey shrugged. She turned towards the walker and sat back down, resting her back against one of its giant legs. To her surprise, Luke came and sat next to her. 

“The galaxy is going to war,” Luke continued. “And here you sit, soaking up the last rays of Jakku sunlight? Your friends need you, Rey.”

How could he be so callous? Didn’t he think she knew that?

“They’re better off without me. I had a vision. It was…terrible.”

She told Luke everything. About how she’d seen herself go over to the Sith, how she was responsible for the deaths of her friends. Even about how she and Kylo had finally joined forces, and become something more intimate than co-rulers. About how that thought thrilled her, even though the circumstances were horrifying. 

“Mmm yes, that nephew of mine has always had a certain something about him. I can’t blame you, Rey. I did catch the two of you holding hands on Ach-To if you remember.”

“Master Skywalker, this is serious!”

“I know that, Rey. I also know that these visions show you what you’re most afraid of. You’re afraid of your power, afraid of losing your friends, even afraid of how you feel about Kylo Ren. For someone who has such a connection to the Dark, finding out you share a soul with someone who was seduced by it.” He shook his head. “I can’t imagine.”

“A dyad,” Rey said, with resignation. “I didn’t want to believe it when he told me, but…it’s true. It feels like he’s half of me. There’s always been something...familiar about him.”

“I’m willing to bet your minds and hearts could see each other long before your eyes ever did.”

Rey nodded. There had been moments as she grew up, when Rey felt frightened, or angry but had no reason to be feeling that way. There had even been one terrible day a few years earlier, where her heart had been seized with such darkness and anguish, it had provoked a physical reaction. She couldn’t explain it at the time, but that was undoubtedly the moment Ben Solo had truly fallen to the dark side.

“A relationship like yours,” Luke went on, “is what the Jedi and Sith tried to cultivate for centuries. The Jedi hoped that by training together, in a one-on-one master and apprentice scenario, they could create the bonds of a dyad between two individuals. Some came close, my father and his master for instance, but none ever quite reached it.”

He paused. Rey contemplated the horizon as she listened attentively, desperate for anything that could help her make sense of it all.

“The Sith, on the other hand, took this a step further. Using this relationship as a base, their Rule of Two, only one master and apprentice at a time, was implemented as a means of concentrating their power. As each apprentice killed their master, it was thought, their power would grow exponentially, with each subsequent Sith lord becoming infinitely more powerful than the last.”

“I don’t understand,” Rey cut in. “What does killing each other have to do with creating the bonds of a dyad?”

“Well in their arrogance, they treated every master-apprentice pairing as a true dyad and…Rey, you do know what happens when one half of a dyad kills the other?”

Rey shook her head.

“If one half of the dyad kills the other, they assume all the life force, and by extension, power of their other half.”

She gasped, remembering the surge of strength she felt after stabbing Kylo Ren. He had been dying, and his power had been flowing into her, only to balance back out once she healed him.

“I…I felt it. When I nearly killed him. I felt myself getting stronger. So then I’m right to stay here, I’m a danger to those around me. What if I’ve already been seduced by the Dark side? What if I hunt him down and kill him again? I’ve done…unspeakable things.”

This went beyond her fears for her friends, and of what she’d done to Kylo. His words, and the memory she’d long repressed swam in her head.  _ You killed your parents. _

“What happened with your parents was terrible. That kind of thing isn’t easily forgotten.”

Rey looked up in surprise, but Luke pressed on before she could interrupt.

”But, Rey, just because you have darkness in your past, does not mean you’re beyond hope of redemption, or that you cannot fight for the Light.”

Though his words were no doubt wise, Rey couldn’t let go of the realization that Luke knew her whole story.

“You know about my parents?”

“I do. Becoming one with the Force has…certain advantages.”

“Does Leia know? Did you tell her?” 

Rey buried her face in her hands. Leia would truly never be able to look her in the eye now, not with her parents blood on her hands. 

“She doesn’t. This is your story to tell. I’m done meddling in the lives of my students.”

“But I just left him there. Kylo.” Rey said, a terrifying thought occurring to her as her mind raced. “If he dies, it’ll be because of me. I attacked and mortally wounded a man because I was scared and angry at myself!” Panic rose in her voice and Rey found herself on the verge of spiralling. “The Resistance doesn’t need me, my friends certainly don’t need me!”

“No? A Jedi as strong as you are? A Jedi who has had every opportunity to turn to the Dark but fights for the Light anyway?”

“I’m no Jedi. I haven’t trained. I have no idea what I’m doing.” 

“Do you think I had any idea what I was doing?” Luke asked, pointing at himself. “What you have inside you, your power and your heart more than make up for lost time in a practice ring.”

Rey rolled her eyes. 

“This isn’t a question of a little internal darkness I need to overcome!” she said, her voice rising. “Or a question of believing in myself! If I go back there, everyone I love will die. The galaxy will burn. I’ve decided. I’m cutting myself off from the Force, like you did.”

“Rey, what do you know of the old Jedi?”

***

Poe sat by Leia’s bedside in a small uncomfortable chair. He was hunched forward, resting his chin in his hands. The weight of responsibility was crushing him, more so than it ever had. He felt that as soon as he caught a break, something else went horribly wrong. Worse still was that Poe knew this wasn’t the time to feel sorry for himself, not with the fate of the galaxy literally resting on his ability to pull himself together. 

“I gotta tell you, I don’t…I don’t know how to do this,” he said to Leia’s unresponsive form. “To lead…like you did…I’m not ready.”

He sighed, feeling ashamed. How could he sit here and complain to the woman who’d led an entire rebellion when she was only a teenager, a woman currently unable to hear him, as she fought for her life.

“She probably would have told you the same thing back then,” said a voice by the door, making Poe jump out of his seat. He turned and found Lando Calrissian standing in the doorframe, a small sad smile on his face. 

“Back then?” Poe said.

“Han, Luke, me…none of us knew what we were doing. We figured it out as we went. She was figuring it out too, not that she’d ever let any of us know that. And it worked, we never doubted her for a second. Neither should you… _ General  _ Dameron _. _ ”

The significance of Leia’s last command settled on him then. Poe nodded in recognition of the new title. He knew he should trust her judgement, but he couldn’t shake his lingering doubts at how truly terrible their prospects were.

“How did you do it? Defeat an Empire with almost nothing?” he asked Lando.

“We had each other,” the older man said shrugging. “Once the galaxy realized we wanted to help…suddenly there were more of us than them.”

***

Finn rushed through the camp, looking frantically for Poe. The Resistance had just received a transmission, supposedly from their spy, telling them where to go next. If true, the fleet would need to spring into action immediately. He rounded a tent and collided with someone. 

Fortunately that someone was Poe.

“ _ There _ you are! Listen, I need to talk to you.”

“I need to talk to you,” Poe said, matching Finn’s excited tone.

“Mine’s important.”

“This’ll just take a second.”

Poe’s pause was brief, but it was long enough for Finn to consider that if this was about to turn into a conversation about their feelings, the timing probably wasn’t the best. 

“I need you.” Poe said, finally.

Oh. So it  _ was _ going to turn into that conversation. Finn’s heart beat just a little quicker.

“I can’t do this without you,” Poe continued. “I want you in command with me”

“I-what?” Finn said, momentarily confused before catching on. “Like a general?”

“Yeah. I can’t do this without you,” Poe said again.

Finn was genuinely touched.

“Thank you. I appreciate that,” he said, smiling. 

Of course that was what Poe wanted. He had too much common sense to give in to poorly timed passion. Finn then remembered he had news to deliver too.

“Ok, so, my thing. Palpatine’s fleet is on Coruscant.”

“What?” Poe said. “How do you know?”

“Spy’s back, apparently.”

***

“The old Jedi?” 

Rey was confused by this sudden change in topic. She’d read bits in the old texts about the ancient Jedi, but she got the sense that wasn’t what Luke meant.

“Almost nothing,” she admitted.

“In the final days of the Republic, when the Jedi were at the height of their power, they also became stuck in their ways. A dogmatic approach to the practice of the Jedi arts meant that despite efforts to recreate dyad bonds, they shunned emotional connection. They thought it made them weak.”

“But what does this have to do with me?”

“Well we’ll never get there with you interrupting me like this,” he said, giving her a wry grin. 

“Sorry,” she mumbled.

“The Jedi were wrong on two counts,” Luke continued. “And that was why they failed. The first was, as I said, they thought their emotions made them weak. They were wrong. Love makes us strong. Compassion makes us strong.”

Rey stood up furiously. 

“The whole reason I’m here is because of love and compassion. If I go back to my friends, I don’t know how long until the Darkness takes me, until I turn into a monster.”

“And that is the second reason the Jedi Order failed,” Luke said, louder and not without some frustration. He wouldn’t let her spiral again. “They considered fear and anger to be the tools of the Dark side. If you’ve spent a lifetime afraid of your own darkness, of course it will twist you. Look at what happened to Ben Solo. He was manipulated and made to fear his dark nature until it ultimately consumed him. I’m partly to blame for that, for teaching him to fear and reject the dark, and not a day goes by that I don’t regret it. But you channel your anger differently Rey. You don’t let it rule you. The advantage of a lack of formal training, I suppose. You were never taught to hide your anger, so you wield it as a tool. What I admire about you, about you and Ben both actually, is how openly you wear your hearts on your sleeves. How you naturally found common ground with each other. How you organically build a connection, despite how messy your emotions make it. No dogma, no restrictions. You use your feelings to guide your actions for good or bad, dark or light, and through it you achieve-”

“Balance,” Rey finished with understanding.

“Balance,” Luke confirmed. “Palpatine has upset the balance in the Force through unnatural means. You must restore it, as only a Jedi can.”

Rey looked down and spied her lightsaber on the ground where she’d left it. She picked it up.

“How can I be a Jedi? I can’t even get my own lightsaber to work.”

“You’ll figure it out, in time. You’ve got... _ two _ others to use in the meantime,” Luke said, a hint of pride in his voice. “You know, Rey. If you were born in the Republic, you would have been a good Jedi. But here, today, the circumstances of your life and the content of your character, not to mention your raw, natural ability? You have the makings of a great Jedi.”

Rey hadn’t realized she was crying until she felt a couple of tears drip onto her chin. She wiped them hastily and nodded, then ducked inside the abandoned walker and grabbed her bag, as well as her tool belt. At the last moment, she grabbed the little handmade doll and stuffed it into the pack as well. If her past was what made her the woman she was today, she felt compelled to carry a token of that with her as she took her next steps. 

“So where to now? Into town to find a new ship?” Luke asked, clapping his hands together.

“Nope, this one will do.” Rey said, tossing her bag inside the cockpit of the TIE.

“This one is half broken!”

“You forget Master Skywalker,” Rey said, smiling as she waved her tool belt. “Before I was much of anything, I used to work with ships.”

Before long, Rey had made enough repairs to the TIE to be able to fly it safely. She leapt into the pilots seat and had hardly settled in before the ship took off towards the sunset, coordinates for Coruscant displayed on her readout.

***

Armitage Hux lay in his quarters, hardly able to move. 

He’d never experienced torture like what Windrunner had inflicted on him. Not at the academy. Not in stormtrooper training. Not even at the hands of his father. For all that he’d been a sadistic, cruel man, Brendol always thought that his treatment of his son would make Armitage grow into a better, stronger man.

And none of those occasions had ever resulted in him being strapped into the torture chair.

Windrunner had enjoyed hurting Hux. There was nothing to be learned by torturing him. His messages to the Resistance, once they knew what they were looking for, were all easily accessed from any computer terminal. And he'd already confessed to being the spy. 

Still, Windrunner kept him in the torture chair for what felt like hours, as Hux drifted in and out of consciousness. During his waking moments, he noticed a gleam of enjoyment on the older man’s face. He thought he’d caught snatches of conversation regarding a rendezvous with Emperor Palpatine on Coruscant, but that couldn’t be right. Coruscant hadn’t been a seat of power in decades. He also thought he heard the stormtrooper tell Windrunner that “the spy has told the Resistance where to find the fleet”. But that wasn’t right either. He was the spy, and he’d been locked up for hours. That comment has resulted in a fresh round of pain for Hux, as Windrunner angrily posed questions Hux couldn’t answer even if he wanted to.

Once Windrunner had had enough - or more likely realized he had other tasks to attend to - Hux had been tossed into his quarters, broken, bruised, and hardly aware of how much time had passed. He managed to crawl to the fresher, and dig out a couple of his reserve batch stims. Injecting them without assistance was a pain, but he was glad he’d done it. Already he could feel swelling going down and he knew his bruises were fading. 

He needed a plan. 

Guards were posted outside his door, and all the terminals inside his quarters were almost certainly being monitored, if not outright disabled. What he needed was a way off this blasted Destroyer. Perhaps once they reached Coruscant. But how to get out undetected?

Sudden inspiration struck. Hux hobbled over to a seldom-used cabinet and pressed a button to open the door. He removed the contents and began to meticulously put them on. A rigorous officer's fitness regimen meant that the old uniform still fit him. First, the black bodysuit. Then, one by one, each piece of gleaming white armour. By the time Hux pulled the white Stormtrooper helmet over his red hair, he was feeling more like himself than he had in years, back in the thick of the action once more.

Now all he had to do was wait.

***

“Fleet on Coruscant. Go now.” Connix read out loud, before looking back at Finn, Poe and Rose.

“I  _ told _ you the spy was back,” Finn said. 

“Alright,” Poe said, “Let’s not keep them waiting.

The four of them joined the rest of the assembled Resistance by the Falcon’s ramp. The news that the fleet was housed on Coruscant sent ripples through the crowd.

“Coruscant?”

“This _whole_ _time?_ ”

“How?”

Poe held his hands up, in a wordless plea for quiet. He was shocked to find they actually listened, and chatter stopped almost immediately.

“I know it sounds bad,” Finn said. “But as long as the ships remain on Coruscant, we can hit them.”

“How?” called out one of the techs, a man named Beaumont.

Rose stepped forward, datapad in hand.

“The ships can’t activate shields until they leave the atmosphere. They’ll also need help taking off. Tall buildings scramble the navs on ships that big. They need the help of navigational towers like this one.”

She keyed a couple of commands on her datapad. The built-in holoprojector turned on and displayed an image of the tower in question. 

“Air team is going to take care of the towers,” Poe continued. “Ground team will take care of disabling shields and comms planetside to slow the First Order down.”

“Ground team?” Snap asked.

“We’ve got a plan for that,” Finn said, nodding at Jannah who stood nearby.

“Once the fleet is immobilized, we hit their cannons, ignite the main reactors, which should take care of the threat.”

“What about civilians?” asked Aftab Akbar, Admiral Akbar’s son who had taken his father's place in the fight.

“Based on preliminary readings, the fleet seems to be docked away from any currently occupied settlements.” Rose said. “Which makes sense since no one detected any funny business when the ships were being built in the first place.”

“We need to pull some Holdo maneuvers!” called Beaumont. “Do some real damage!”

“No,” said Poe. “That was a last minute act of desperation. And we are not that desperate yet. Fighters and freighters are enough to take out the cannons if there are enough of us.”

“There aren’t enough of us!” Connix said. “They have bigger ships and larger numbers. We’re like bugs to them.”

“That’s where you come in,” Finn said to her. “We’re going to put out a call to the Core systems, to anyone who may be listening. We have friends out there. They’ll come if there’s hope.”

The assembled group exchanged skeptical looks. Some shook their heads, some muttered to their neighbour. But each and every one of them shared the same look of hopelessness, ready to give up the fight. 

“They will. The First Order wins by making us think we’re alone,” Poe called out, recalling Zorii’s words to him on Kijimi. “We are not alone. Good people will fight if we lead them.”

“We need to show them we aren’t afraid. We can’t give up now. Leia never did.”

At the mention of their currently incapacitated leader, everyone sat up a little straighter, looks of grim determination on their faces. Such was the power of Leia Organa.

“We cannot let everything our mothers and fathers fought for die,” Poe said. “Today we make our last stand. For the galaxy. For Leia. For everyone we lost.”

A small sniff caught Poe’s attention. He turned in time to catch Rose clutching the necklace that she’d shared with her sister, hastily wiping at her eyes. She wasn’t alone, either. Here and there he could see others doing the same, no doubt lost in memories of those the war had taken from them. He too found himself remembering those who had been taken from him. His mother, his friends, even Zorii had lost her life because of the war. Enough was enough. 

“Enough is enough,” Finn said. “We’re not losing anymore people. We’re taking the war to them.”

***

Ben had anticipated trouble once he finally made his way back to the shore on Kef Bir. He’d expected the inhabitants of the island waiting to meet him, weapons drawn. He’d expected to have to beg, barter and steal to get a transport off the moon and on to Coruscant. 

It turned out all he had to do was steal. 

By the time he got back, the island was deserted. Rey had left in his TIE, he knew that much. Her friends must have departed on board the Millennium Falcon, and the others who’d made their home here had hopped onto a couple of other transports and taken off as well. It was then a matter of just choosing one of the remaining transports and commandeering it for his own purposes. The task might have daunted a lesser man, but he was the son of Han Solo. He had his father’s skill as a pilot. And perhaps some of his smuggler skills too.

Ben was relieved to find the inhabitants of Kef Bir had apparently come from the First Order, judging by the transports they left behind. He chose a small, light transport that he was somewhat familiar with and switched on the computer and navigational systems. As he waited for the navigation to start up, he scrolled through the onboard computer, surprised to see that it was still receiving information from First Order command.

“They caught the spy?” he muttered to himself. He paused scrolling to input his destination into the navigational system, the coordinates to Coruscant embedded in his memory. He flew the ship up beyond the atmosphere of the small moon, then hovered for a moment to finish scanning the report. 

“Hux?!” He exclaimed, unable to contain himself. “I knew it. I  _ knew  _ it.”

His momentary mirth was then overshadowed by a grim realization. If Rey had gone straight to Coruscant - and he could feel that she had - and Hux wasn’t able to communicate with the Resistance any longer, how would they know where to find Palpatine’s fleet?

Inspiration struck. Running a quick search for outgoing communications at the highest levels, praying his authentication codes were still valid, he found a string of messages sent from a scrambled sender to an unknown recipient. Messages that all detailed the various movements of the First Order, all highly classified. This had to be Hux’s contact within the Resistance.

Moments before throwing the transport into hyperspace to make the trip to Coruscant, he sent a quick note on behalf of the spy. 

_ Fleet on Coruscant. Go now. _

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all I'm sorry this update took so long! Writers block combined with real life obligations kinda got in the way BUT the next few chapters are already written, so the wait shouldn't be as bad going forward.
> 
> As always thank you so much for reading!


	11. Charge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coruscant had no surface.
> 
> She supposed it must, in theory, because what else would all these buildings be standing on? Rey had never seen a settlement larger than Kijimi, and the incomprehensibly hectic environment in which she found herself threatened to become very overwhelming, very fast.
> 
> She’d expected to arrive and be able to locate the Sith temple on sight. But how was she ever going to see anything in this chaos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pop a Lactaid and have the Tums on standby. We're getting cheesy here.

The company had been dismissed. Connix rushed to her station and put out a call for anyone friendly to the Resistance to rendezvous at Coruscant. Mechanics finalized checks on all outbound ships. Pilots prepped for launch. Non-fighting personnel who would be travelling on the larger ships steeled themselves for something they’d never thought they would face. Those who were staying behind at base did all they could to help, trying to stay brave for those about to venture into battle. All around was a flurry of hugs and tears as people said goodbye, hoping this wouldn’t be the last time they saw their friend, lover, spouse, teammate, but knowing there was no way to guarantee that. 

Finn had finished preparing for his launch with Jannah and her crew. He’d also arranged for Lando to take Rose with him aboard the Falcon. If he could keep at least one of his friends out of the danger zone it was the least he could do. He’d asked the base medic to keep Threepio with her, and little D-0 as well. The smaller droid hadn’t wanted to leave BB-8’s side, but Threepio had ultimately convinced him that they would have quite the adventure together while everyone else was “gallivanting in the stars”. With everything accounted for, there wasn’t much left for Finn to do. Except say goodbye to Poe. 

He finally found his friend loading BB-8 into his X-Wing. Poe had changed into his flight suit, and Finn had to admit that he cut quite a handsome figure, despite the garish orange colour. 

“Hey,” Finn called.

“Hey yourself. All set to go?”

“Yeah, I…I just wanted to say bye. You know…in case this is it.”

Poe crossed over to Finn in two steps and surprised the younger man by grabbing his hand. 

“This isn’t it. We’re going to win this thing. We’re going to see each other again.”

Around them, sirens sounded. The first of the ships took off, in a flurry of dry leaves and roaring engines. 

“I should go,” Finn said, looking behind him. He could just make out Jannah standing on the entrance ramp of their ship, casting her eyes around for him.

“Right,” Poe said, suddenly letting go of Finn’s hand. “Before you do…”

Poe reached under the neck of his flight suit and fished out the chain with his mother's ring on it. 

“Would you hang on to this for me?” he asked Finn, handing it over. “It chafes under my flight suit, but I can’t bear to leave it behind.”

Finn knew for a fact Poe had worn the chain under his suit many times. So why take it off now, unless…

Oh.

Ok.

But still.

“I can’t take this from you. It’s all you have of hers.”

“Right. So make sure you bring it back to me, OK?”

“Make sure you come back to pick it up.”

Finn pulled Poe into a hug. Poe seemed confident they’d see each other again, but Finn didn’t want to leave whatever this was between them open to interpretation. If one of them came back but the other didn’t… 

They stood like that for a few moments, oblivious to the increasingly loud comm chatter spewing out of Poe’s X-Wing. They pulled back slightly, but only slightly. Poe was so close Finn could kiss him if he wanted to. Giving him his mother's ring had to mean something, after all. Maybe he _should_ just kiss him. Maybe-

“Poe!” Snap called, running into the clearing. “We gotta go.”

The two men broke apart, as though they’d been electrocuted. 

“Finn,” Poe said, his voice breaking slightly as he climbed up into his ship. “May the Force be with you.”

Finn smiled. 

“May the Force be with you.”

***

Coruscant lay in her sights, and Rey was a bundle of nerves. She knew she had a fight ahead of her once she reached the Sith temple. The kind of fight no amount of training could ever prepare someone for. She fought shaking hands as she brought the TIE fighter closer to the atmosphere, seeking to avoid the pair of First Order ships. 

She attempted to fly as casually as possible, hoping anyone watching would assume she was just another ordinary TIE pilot out on an errand. But, as she remembered too late, it was no ordinary TIE fighter she flew. 

“Supreme Leader?” came a voice over her ship's comms. She froze. Of course the Supreme Leader’s TIE was distinct from the others. 

She had no idea what to do. In her wildest dreams, there was no way she could hope to emulate Kylo’s distinctive voice, one that was so smooth and deep she could feel it rumbling in her own chest when he spoke. A small smile crept across her face at the thought of it.

“Supreme Leader?” The voice said again. Blast. She’d wasted too much time daydreaming. She opened the voice channel for a few seconds but stayed silent, hoping the officer would chalk it up to an error. 

“Sir, we require a clearance code. I’m sure you understand,” said the voice again. 

Rey listened carefully for any ambient noise, but heard none. The officer was likely using a headset. She had never tried influencing anyone’s mind remotely before, but figured it was worth a try. She had nothing left to lose. They would blast her out of the sky if she failed to answer one more hail.

“You don’t require my clearance code,” Rey said, reaching as far as she could into the Force. The voice on the other end was silent. Rey closed her eyes, half praying, half bracing herself for a canon blast.

“I…don’t require your clearance code?” The officer replied in the flat hypnotized voice characteristic of those currently having their minds meddled with. 

“You’ll grant me safe passage and allow me to land anywhere I please.”

“You’ve got safe passage,” the voice confirmed. “Land anywhere you please.”

Not wanting to wait for the officer to come to his senses, Rey pushed the TIE to its limits and sent it screaming for the planet's surface. As soon as she broke through the atmosphere, she realized there was one problem with her plan.

Coruscant had no surface.

She supposed it must, in theory, because what else would all these buildings be standing on? Rey had never seen a settlement larger than Kijimi, and the incomprehensibly hectic environment in which she found herself threatened to become very overwhelming, very fast.

She’d expected to arrive and be able to locate the Sith temple on sight. But how was she ever going to see anything in this chaos. She slowed the TIE down and flew at a gentle pace above the lanes of traffic.

Her solution would usually be to meditate, to close her eyes, reach out with the Force and seek the location of the temple. But she couldn’t close her eyes here, she would almost certainly crash if she did. She instead took a steadying breath and used the gentle motion of the ship to centre herself. There was so much commotion all around, how could the Jedi have ever functioned amidst all this noise? 

But then… _there_. A small bubble of peace and serenity called out to her. The old Jedi temple. Though it was a Sith temple she sought, she figured the Jedi temple was as good a place as any to begin. She chased the calm that called out to her, and before long found herself flying over a deserted temple complex. Even the civilian transports seemed to avoid flying overhead, which gave her plenty of room to bring the TIE into a careful descent onto one of the landing pads. She hopped out of the TIE, shouldered her bag and ran into the old Jedi temple. 

Stepping into the massive corridor that overlooked the foyer of the temple, Rey felt overwhelmed. The Force was strong here. She hadn’t felt it this keenly since she’d gone to find Luke on Ach-To. Much like Ach-To, she could also feel an undercurrent of Darkness darting through the Light that made its home here. She focused on it, allowing her mind to open up to it. Like an electric shock to her soul, she felt the Dark side. It wasn’t just an undercurrent, it was strong here, strong enough to rival the Light. Though she knew she stood in the old Jedi temple, she knew the ancient Sith temple was closer than she realized.

_Below. What you seek lies below_ something, or someone, whispered to her through the Force. The Sith temple lay below the Jedi temple. She allowed the Force to guide her. It would lead her to the Temple entrance, she had no doubt. 

Now all that remained was to face Palpatine. 

Master Skywalker had said her emotions and her fear made her strong. If that were true, Rey figured in that moment she must be damn near invincible.

***

The Resistance squadron dropped out of hyperspace above Coruscant only to be met with two massive Star Destroyers. Poe let out a burst of panicked laughter. 

“They’ve probably seen us already. We have seconds, if that, before they engage,” he said, opening a communication channel to the entire squadron.

Sure enough, at that moment, the hangar doors of both Destroyers opened, and TIE fighters poured out like a swarm of insects.

“What do we do, Poe?” asked Snap Wexley.

“Fly close to the Destroyers,” Poe ordered. “Their cannons can’t get us from close range and the TIE’s won’t fire as freely.”

The squadron moved to do as Poe commanded. The only exception was one larger ship, a carrier. It broke away from the Resistance group and made a beeline for the surface.

“We’re off,” came Finn’s voice over Poe’s comm. “Cover us.”

“Initiating ground support,” Poe announced, before maneuvering his X-Wing to fire on any TIE’s foolish enough to try and pursue Finn.

“Snap,” Poe continued. “Once we’ve taken care of the TIE’s up here I want you to take Black Squadron down to handle the nav towers.”

“Copy that, General,” came Snap’s hesitant reply. They were already outnumbered. How were they going to push the TIE’s far back enough to justify detaching the entire squadron?

Poe watched as Finn’s ship cleared the Coruscant atmosphere. Giving him his mother’s ring had been the boldest, most overt gesture he’d ever made for someone he cared about. Under normal circumstances, he’d feel stupid for having done something that melodramatic. But he couldn’t bear the idea of Finn flying off to face who knew what without some idea of how he felt about him. He didn’t know much about the Force, but if it really was surrounding all of them, he implored it to keep the man he loved safe. 

***

“All hands, prepare for arrival on Coruscant.”

Hux heard the message and made himself ready. He knew no one was coming for him. They’d leave him here until the war was won. And if they lost? No one would care if he rotted on a derelict Star Destroyer. It wasn’t as though the rebels would come looking for him. 

All the more reason to get himself out, and fast.

He heard the marching of boots as Stormtroopers headed to the closest hangar to prepare for deployment. His two guards would be itching to go too, would resent being left behind to guard some snivelling spy. Hux knew they would be spoiling for a fight. He decided to use that. Lifting his standard issue blaster, he fired a single shot at the wall, hoping it would be enough.

It was. 

The door slid open and the two troopers marched inside.

“What do you think you’re-?”

The trooper never got to finish his sentence. With two quick, precise shots, Hux took them both out. He slipped out of his quarters and moved down the corridor as quickly as he could without arousing suspicion. He wanted to put as much distance between himself and the two dead troopers before someone decided to check in on them.

He fell into step behind another trooper and followed the procession into the hangar bay. How odd it felt to be the one marching again, rather than the one barking out orders. To be wearing the hard white casing instead of a crisp black suit. To be an anonymous face within the crowd instead of the one instilling pride and fear in front of it. 

Generals stood above them all, barking orders. Once they arrived on Coruscant, they would rendezvous with the stormtroopers stationed there, at which point the commanders on the ground would assign them a position. Hux suppressed a scoff. He never would have allowed himself to issue such redundant orders. He would have contacted the garrison on the ground, made his authority known, and issued orders to his soldiers himself. He had not been gone one hour and the First Order was already descending into chaos. 

As the troops marched out, Hux hesitated for the briefest moment. Once he left, he would have no hope of claiming any kind of role within the new regime Palpatine wanted to put in place. 

Then again, he had turned traitor in hopes of restoring something akin to order in the galaxy. A lifetime of fighting for the First Order, and he had nothing to show for it. He hadn’t earned anything like respect from his father. He hadn’t risen to the title he felt he deserved. Now he was turning his back on everything he’d helped build. Regimes of this sort were fickle. He was cast aside the moment someone more promising came along. Someone who would play along with whatever schemes this undead emperor had in mind. That wasn’t him.

After a lifetime wasted fighting for glory, for order, for recognition, it was time to try fighting for himself for a change. 

***

The skies above Coruscant were in absolute turmoil when Ben left hyperspace. TIE fighters flew every which way, firing on the depressingly low number of Resistance ships. In all his years with the First Order, some part of him deep, deep, down, the part still tethered to the Light, admired their pluck and determination in showing up and fighting when the chances weren’t good. Though the Resistance put up a good fight, It was clear their strategy wasn’t sustainable. Eventually they would be outnumbered. Eventually they would lose. 

Ben slipped around the warring ships, heading for Coruscant as fast as his stolen ship would take him. He fired off a couple of helpful shots, but not enough to draw the First Order’s attention. If they began to pursue him, he would never make it to Rey on time. If he let her go into that temple alone to face Palpatine, and she lost, the galaxy as they knew it would simply cease to be. He’d done enough damage. It was time to make things right. 

As he cleared Coruscant’s atmosphere, a screen on his navigation console blipped. He was being pursued by a single TIE fighter. In a series of maneuvers that he hoped would make his father proud, he piloted his little craft over and around lanes of traffic. The skies were busier than they had likely ever been before. The dogfight over Coruscant had caught residents' attention, and everyone was trying to get out of the way as quickly as they could. 

Once Ben had cleared a particularly busy cluster of vehicles, he relaxed and tried to get his bearings. He’d lost the TIE but now he had no idea where in the city-planet he was, nor how to find the temple. Instead, he focused on his connection with Rey, on the string wrapped around his heart, that seemed to hold on all the tighter since she’d healed him. He felt a faint pull, as though Rey were a beacon guiding him. He gently turned the ship in what he now knew to be the right direction. But he’d stopped paying attention to his surroundings. He felt a sudden jolt as a blast sent his ship surging to the side. The TIE found him. He’d taken damage, and according to his computer, would not be able to remain airborne much longer. 

Muttering a few choice curse words, he sent his ship hurtling in the direction of the Jedi temple, needing to land as soon as possible, all the while weaving around to shake his tail. He brought the ship crashing down into an old meditation garden which was in the temple complex but a fair distance from the building itself. He leapt out of the smoking vehicle and scanned the sky. He’d lost the TIE again. Ben considered his next move. He checked that his lightsaber was still intact and clipped to his belt, then began a sprint towards the temple. 

_Ben_ , came a whisper in his ear. He came to an abrupt halt. He was definitely all alone in the garden, but something, possibly someone, had called out to him. The voice continued to speak faintly in an ancient language he didn’t understand. He followed it across the garden to a small gnarled tree planted in an oversized plot of dirt surrounded by large paving stones, each carved with an intricate rune. Sith runes. Recognizing them for what they were, Ben crouched in front of the largest stone and placed his hands upon it. 

Though he’d felt his soul definitively return to the Light the moment he shed the cloak of the Supreme Leader, there was still a small current of Darkness that ran through him. He suspected it always would. He drew on that now, using the Dark side to will the runes to reveal their secret. The ground began to shake, the earth beneath the tree shifted before his eyes, and gave way to reveal a long narrow staircase leading underground. 

He’d done it. He’d found a way into the Sith temple.

_Hold on, Rey, I’m coming._

***

The little cruiser slipped away from the dogfight raging overhead and made a beeline for Coruscant. Jannah stood behind their pilot, a young man who must have still been in his teens.

“Do you know where we’re going?” Finn asked, poking his head into the cockpit. “I was mostly stationed on Destroyers, didn’t spend a lot of time planetside.”

“Most of the comm systems and shields are grouped close to the barracks, so troopers can be at their stations in moments, like on a Destroyer.”

They coasted through the city-planet, doing their best to blend in with the increasingly frantic traffic. Finn knew they were drawing close to their destination when they reached a section of the city that was totally devoid of civilian traffic.

“Bring it in back there,” Jannah said, leaning forward and pointing to an industrial structure on the edge of the complex that had fallen into disrepair. 

Their pilot landed the craft, then slipped out of his seat and went to join the others. The small crew had all grabbed their blasters and now stood waiting for further instruction. Finn looked around at them all. Eight faces, including Jannah’s, looked back at him.

_It’s not enough_ , Finn thought to himself, struggling to not to let his emotions show. Though he would probably manage to conceal his feelings from the small company, he could feel theirs rolling off of them in waves. They were all nervous, scared even, but through it all ran a dart of confidence. They believed in him, trusted him to get them out of this alive. 

“You all deserve better,” Finn said. “You deserve some kind of plan that has a shot at winning. But right now, we are the only hope the Resistance has of being able to stop the First Order.”

“We’ve got the advantage,” added Jannah. “We know how they move, how they think and most importantly how their systems work. Stick to the plan.”

“This nightmare regime stole our lives, and the lives of billions of others. That ends today,” Finn said with substantially more confidence than he felt. 

Three of their number stayed behind with comlinks, ready to either evacuate the group or else to fly back to the Resistance and tell them the others didn’t make it - if indeed there was a Resistance to go back to at the end of all this. The rest slipped out of the carrier and crept further into the Imperial complex. 

“I can’t believe there’s no security,” Finn whispered.

“Everyone’s probably preparing to engage with the Resistance?” Jannah whispered back. 

One member of the crew, a young woman named Aldi, raised her hand and waved to grab their attention. Once she had it, she pointed at a large building located to the centre of the complex.

Ah.

That’s where the security was.

Finn had planned on eliminating the occasional guard along the way, but this? This was impossible. The building they needed access to, the one that would house all the terminals with access to the systems they needed was absolutely swarming with officers and stormtroopers. If he was relieved about one thing though, it was that they hadn’t made a beeline right for the building. They’d almost certainly be dead by now if they had. 

“What do we do?” someone asked. “We need to get into that building.”

“Wait!” said Aldi, after a moment's thought. “The barracks!”

“The barracks?” Finn asked.

“Oh!” said Jannah catching on. “The barracks! Yes!”

“Will someone please tell me what’s going on?”

“All trooper barracks on planet house computer terminals, for training or in case of emergency,” Aldi said. “If we can get to one of them, I can probably reroute it to gain access to the main system.”

“So, slice it?” Finn said.

“Yeah, basically!”

“There!” Jannah said, pointing. Sure enough, Finn could just make out a building labelled ‘Housing Complex A’. He motioned for them to get moving, and they all fell into step behind him.

They slipped around buildings, keeping to the shadows of the rapidly failing daylight. They arrived at the housing complex without incident, apart from a couple of near misses where they’d nearly been caught. 

When they arrived at the back door to the building, Jannah keyed in her old access code. To everyone’s surprise - and relief - the pad blinked once, and the door slid open to admit them. 

The building was industrial, much live everything else the First Order laid it’s hands on, and deathly quiet. The overhead lights were such bight contrast to the dimming light outside that Finn couldn’t help but squint as they pushed forward in search of a computer terminal station.

“This’ll do,” Aldi said, pushing open a door marked ‘Education and Compliance’.

The room was filled with rows upon rows of computer terminals. Aldi selected one near the door and situated herself in front of the screen. Her fingers began rapidly flying across the keypad and the screen, in a fascinating, elegant dance. The rest of the company leaned closer to get a better look at what she was doing. 

This was likely the reason none of them heard the door slide open once more.

“Identify yourselves!” a voice barked.

Finn froze, then turned slowly, finding himself staring down the barrel of a stormtroopers blaster.. The rest followed suit, except Aldi, who started working even quicker.

Finn, Jannah, and the rest of their crew all raised their hands.

“Identify yourselves,” the stormtrooper barked again, brandishing her weapon. 

Just then, Finn had an idea. He would never have been so bold if he hadn’t heard, or rather felt, a small voice inside himself telling him it was the right thing to do.

He stepped in front of the others, looked the trooper right in the face and said confidently:

“I’m Finn, formerly FN-2817”

The trooper dropped her blaster. 

***

“You’re with me kid,” Lando had said back on Ajan Kloss, clapping Rose on the shoulder. “General’s orders.”

“Why?” Rose asked.

“I’m going out there, I want the best with me.”

Rose rolled her eyes. She knew a lie when she heard it. This had Finn all over it. It was just like him to try and keep her safe in the thick of the fight for their lives. 

Her work wasn’t unimportant, she knew that. With the Falcon acting as a relay point near Coruscant, she could keep an eye on incoming pilots, and report back to the fleet closer to the planet.

The only problem was that no one was coming. 

She watched through the cockpit windows in horror as their little ragtag band was outnumbered by an increasingly large onslaught of TIE fighters. Poe and his pilots were excellent at what they did, and they flew with heart. But it wasn’t enough. It was less fighting to win, and more delaying an inevitable loss.

The message Connix had sent out to the galaxy at large was short and to the point. She said the Resistance would be engaging the Empire over Coruscant and asked any available pilots to join them in the fight. It wasn’t enough. It hadn’t been enough at Crait either. 

They wouldn’t win this war with polite requests, they needed fire, and passion, and at the moment Rose was burning with it. 

“General Calrissian,” she called out, marching to the small holotable they’d installed in the main area of the Falcon.

“Yeah, kid?”

“I want to send a message, New Republic and Resistance frequencies.”

“New Republic?”

“It’s worth a try. What are the chances the First Order is blocking those too?”

“Alright,” Lando said, keying a few commands on his own computer. “You’re good to go. Who exactly are you contacting?”

“Everyone,” Rose replied simply.

She stood in front of the holotable and activated the recording device. She tucked a few stray hairs behind her ear, smoothed her shirt, and pulled out her Haysian smelt necklace so it sat in pride of place on her chest. She wanted her sister Paige with her for this. 

“As we speak, the Resistance is putting up the fight of its life against the First Order over Coruscant,” Rose said, staring directly into the holorecorder. “We’ve asked for your help, but we continue to fight alone. I know how scared you must be. It seems impossible that such a small movement could take down something so colossal. But by squashing us down, keeping us apart, keeping us afraid, the First Order has made each and every one of us feel like we’re alone. We’re not alone. The galaxy is so much bigger than they want to believe, and if we stand together, we outnumber them. We have a chance to live another day, instead of dying as martyrs or living the rest of our lives as prisoners. Help us. Help us win. Help us bring peace back to our galaxy. If we want to save what we love, sometimes we have to fight back against those who would take it from us. The Resistance needs you. The galaxy needs you. May the Force be with us all.” 

Rose ended the transmission and watched as her message was sent out far and wide. If that didn’t light a fire under every being in the galaxy, nothing would.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you as always for reading and for your lovely comments <3 I appreciate every last one of you for putting up with me and my writer's block!


	12. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three feet from the ground, the platform stopped. A lone figure waited to meet her at the bottom. She’d spotted him fairly early into her descent, but it wasn’t until the platform stopped that she knew for sure who she was seeing. 
> 
> “Rey,” said the voice she knew almost as well as her own.
> 
> In front of the platform, a single gloved hand extended to help her down, was the very man she thought she’d left behind on the Death Star.

On the lowest level of the Jedi temple, Rey hit a dead end. The room was empty and contained no doors except the one she’d just entered through. If what she sought was “below”, as the voice had said, then this must be it. She cast her eyes around, half expecting Palpatine to simply materialize out of the shadows. But nothing happened. 

She reached out with the Force, and was surprised when she could feel the remains of a familiar presence.  _ He was here _ , she thought. He couldn’t have arrived before her, but he had been here once. The presence reached out and guided her to the centre of the room, where the only decorative element in the entire space lay. A hexagonal design was carved into the floor, the runes upon it beautiful, ancient, and vaguely sinister. Rey stepped on it, then immediately braced herself as the entire design - a platform, she realized - began to sink into the floor. 

Three feet from the ground, the platform stopped. A lone figure waited to meet her at the bottom. She’d spotted him fairly early into her descent, but it wasn’t until the platform stopped that she knew for sure who she was seeing. 

“Rey,” said the voice she knew almost as well as her own.

In front of the platform, a single gloved hand extended to help her down, was the very man she thought she’d left behind on the Death Star.. 

***

To say that Finn was surprised when the trooper lowered her blaster would be an understatement. The trooper must have surprised herself too, because she raised the blaster again almost immediately.

“ _ You’re _ FN-2187?” she asked incredulously. 

“Yeah,” Finn said warily, his hands still raised.

“The traitor?” she asked. “Why would someone who abandoned the cause decide to come back?”

Her words were harsh.  _ Traitor. Abandon _ . But she didn’t sound as though she fully believed what she was saying. Rather, it was as though she was repeating something she’d been told over and over. Finn could feel the lack of conviction swirling inside her, and decided to try his luck.

“I came back to make things right,” he said slowly. “I ran away. I fought for the other side. I even killed Captain Phasma. I saved myself. Now it’s time to save everyone else trapped by the First Order.”

The stormtrooper wavered for a moment. She sidestepped over to a terminal and typed something out with one hand, the other sill holding the blaster trained on Finn. Through the transparent display, Finn could see his old personnel readout, accompanied by a picture.

Though he couldn’t see her face, he could tell the troopers eyes were flitting between the screen and his face, confirming that he was who he said.

She keyed off the display, and faced Finn again. 

“What do you mean ‘make things right’?”

Finn sighed.

“You’re…you’re just going to have to trust me.”

“Not good enough.”

“We’re trying to stop the-”

“What are you  _ doing? _ ” Jannah hissed.

“I’ve got a good feeling about this,” Finn whispered back before turning back to the trooper. 

“We’re trying to stop the First Order from sending Palpatine’s fleet out into the galaxy. If they do, there won’t be a single free world left. Every system will fall under the might of a new Emperor.”

“The Supreme Leader-”

“Won’t last under Palpatine. It’ll be like it was after the war. More people will suffer. More fighting, more uncertainty.” Finn paused. “More kids torn from their families.”

Each second that passed felt like an hour. Finn could practically hear the trooper thinking. He could sense her heart was troubled and burdened with sadness. Finally, she lowered her blaster again. She reached her free hand up to her helmet. It hissed as it detached from her neck, and she pulled it off. She shook a strand of blonde hair out of her eyes. 

“I’m CB-7376,” she said, then she called to Aldi. “What are you trying to do over there?”

Aldi stopped what she was doing, and looked at Finn. 

“We need to lower shields and scramble comms so our fighters can get in and destroy the nav towers,” Finn said, despite a horrified look from Jannah.

“Which would stop the fleet from taking off…” CB-7376 muttered to herself. She crossed over to Aldi’s terminal and keyed in a few commands. 

“It’s done,” she said, looking back at Finn. “They shouldn’t be able to trace it to me, though I don’t much care at this point. Send word to your command, then follow me.”

“How do we know she’s telling the truth?” Jannah hissed.

“You’re just going to have to trust me,” CB-7376 said, repeating Finn’s words.

She lifted her helmet back onto her head, and waited for it to close in place again before leading the way out the door.

Without discussing it with the others, Finn nodded for them to follow her. She had shown them a great deal of trust in revealing her identity, and her face, and by disabling the systems. He wasn’t about to squander such a gesture. This could only help them, he knew it. 

“Poe,” he whispered into his comm. “Are you able to get in?”

“You did it, Finn! Shields are down! We’re going in!” came Poe’s voice, distorted by static. Finn keyed off and pocketed the device.

CB-7376 led them through a series of maze-like corridors they could never have navigated on their own. She keyed a code into her wrist comm, then quietly muttered “Shadow Legion, rendezvous immediately.”

***

Ben sprinted down the steps two at a time. He didn’t care that he was hurtling headfirst into unknown danger. All he knew was that he had to get down there before Rey did. This was all his fault. He’d gotten her, and the galaxy, into this mess. He wasn’t about to let her face Palpatine alone.  _ If only I hadn’t found that stupid wayfinder, _ he thought bitterly. 

He emerged into a long, damp corridor. The walls were unadorned stone, and the air was so chilly he could see each shaky breath he took puffing up in front of him. He moved quickly down the hallway, until he came to a split in the path. He reached into himself, feeling for Rey in the Force. He knew she was here, but  _ where _ exactly was the question. Then he felt a tug in his soul. He could sense something to the right. It was warmth, and light, and goodness, shot through with a sinister vein of darkness. A vein that twisted and grew with each moment he hesitated, until it had nearly overwhelmed the light. 

Panic rising, he took off at a run down the passage on the right. A figure stepped out from the shadows and stood directly before him. He came to a stop again, his hand on his lightsaber. 

The figure was that of a hooded woman, dressed all in black. She reached up and slid the hood off her head. 

“Hello, Ben,” Rey said, her smile not quite reaching her bloodshot yellow eyes.

***

Hux marched out of the trooper transport, trying his best to keep in formation with the others. It had been so long since he’d performed these exercises, that all things considered he thought he was holding up rather well. But if these commanders were truly as brutal as he’d trained them to be, they would spot his deficiencies, haul him out of line and investigate his non-compliance. He wouldn’t be given the benefit of a trial, or another chance to escape. He’d likely be executed on the spot. The squad of troopers came to a halt, and Hux stopped as well, half a beat after the others. 

This unfortunately caught the eye of the squad commander, who paused, and trained his visor directly at Hux. He took a step towards him, pointed, and gestured that Hux should step out of the ranks. The rest of the squad parted instantly, clearing the way for their non-conforming member to march to his doom. Hux slowly marched out and stood before the commander, who was half a head shorter than him, and tried to strike a balance between tough but cowed. 

“What exactly do you call that?” The commander barked.

“Sorry, sir. No excuse sir.” Hux said, wincing at the sound of his own voice. He’d messed with the modulator to further disguise the sound of his own voice. Years of recording all the propaganda and training holos made his speech patterns and voice far too recognizable among the stormtroopers. But he also hated how pathetic he sounded. He hadn’t had to answer to anyone like that for years. Except for Snoke. And Ren. 

“I ought to report you directly to the Supreme Leader for such a shoddy performance,” the commander continued. “You bring disgrace on us all.”

Hux barely suppressed a very undignified snort. As if Windrunner cared. Ren never did. Snoke never did. Really, the only person in First Order leadership who’d ever cared was currently the one standing here being dressed down by an overly pompous commander.

“Commander!” a new voice interjected. Hux stood still, but his would-be disciplinarian turned to face the new arrival. The detailing on her armour designated her of similar rank to the man standing before Hux.

“Yes?” 

“I’ve been requested to rendezvous with a separate detachment. I’d like to take a trooper along to assist me,” the newcomer said. “I’ll take this one, if you don’t mind.”

Though Hux couldn’t see the man’s face, he knew “his” commander was more than happy to be rid of him. He nodded his acknowledgement, and Hux fell into step beside the female commander.

“I saw you slip up back there,” she muttered quietly. “You’ve been practicing breaking your conditioning?”

Hux said nothing. After all, what could he say? The knowledge that troopers actively broke their conditioning rattled him to his core. But the commander kept her head tilted towards him, waiting for a response.

“Mmm,” Hux said, noncommittally.

“Excellent,” she said. “Shadow Legion can use men like you.”

Shadow Legion?

She led him into one of the older barracks, and straight to the turbo lifts. These buildings were left over from the Clone Wars, and Hux marvelled that they were still standing. They exited the lift into a little-used corridor that had definitely seen better days. The heightened hearing in his helmet meant that Hux could just hear some commotion at the end of the hall. 

They entered a large, old sparring room. Stormtroopers milled around, speaking quietly, their  helmets off. Did they not fear reprimand from their superiors? 

He then noticed that the likely reason this of all places served as their meeting space was that the holocams had not been functional in years. One of them was actually broken and dangling off the wall. 

At the front of the assembly stood a half dozen people dressed like rebels rather than stormtroopers. At the front of their little group stood a familiar figure, one Hux had thought never to see again: FN-2187.

***

“Poe, I’ve got a visual on the tower!”

“Hit it with everything you’ve got!” 

Poe watched from a distance as Jessika Pava, one of his Black Squadron pilots swooped expertly around a TIE that was stupid enough to try and stop her. 

The TIE exploded in a shower of sparks, and off to his left Poe could just see another pilot, Karé Kun, grinning to herself in the cockpit. She had almost certainly been responsible for the shot that took out the TIE.

“They’ve got nav towers and comm towers all over this sector,” Poe called out to his pilots. “Make sure you hit every last one, or all this was for nothing.”

“Roger that, General!” came Snap’s voice, crackling through the comm. The other pilots acknowledged Poe’s orders in turn, with Karé even offering him a little mock salute before turning her X-wing to follow the squad into the fray.

Poe didn't have the faintest idea how Finn had managed it. They’d been such a ragtag little group heading down to the surface of the planet, and yet they somehow snuck into the First Order base, sliced into a computer terminal, disabled the necessary shields, and lived to tell the tale. Or at least Poe assumed they’d lived to tell the tale.

What if all this was a trap?

That had definitely been Finn who’d called him on the comm to give him the go-ahead. Poe would recognize that voice anywhere in the galaxy, no matter how much static interference distorted it. But what if he’d been ordered to give them the all-clear? What if it was all on orders of some sadistic First Order commander? What if Finn had been killed moments after calling?

_ No _ , Poe thought, stopping himself from a spiral he didn’t need right now. They knew what the risks were when they came to Coruscant, and he would have to respect the choice Finn made, without beating himself up for it. 

“Wooo!” came Jessika’s jubilant voice. “That’s the last of them General!”

“Great job, Jess. All of you. Rendezvous with the fleet-”

But Poe stopped himself short at the horrific sight now unfolding before his eyes. 

Jess had said they shot down all the navigation and communication towers. Poe had seen it for himself, seen the plumes of smoke that crept up into the Coruscant atmosphere. 

So if all the navigation towers had been destroyed…how exactly were there a dozen Star Destroyers now preparing to rise to the sky before his very eyes?

***

Supreme Leader Windrunner couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“How  _ exactly _ did a reckless band of miscreants manage to disable our shields?”

“Unclear, Supreme Leader. They-”

But Windrunner cut the underling off. 

“Not just our shields, I might add. But the very shields  _ protecting the fleet's navigation and communication towers _ ?”

He was yelling now. He didn’t care that his careful composure had fallen completely by the wayside, or that he no longer projected the same air of all-knowing confidence that the Emperor had so flawlessly mastered. Of course the Emperor could maintain his calm. He was served by Nash Windrunner, the best of the best. While Windrunner had to deal with idiots like the one currently babbling nonsense before him. Nonsense he no longer had any time for.

Windrunner raised his small blaster off his desk and shot the officer in the chest.  _ At least that put a stop to the noise _ , he thought before marching out of his office. 

He raced onto the bridge with all the speed he could muster while still retaining some semblance of dignity.

“Update!” he barked at no one in particular. The ranking bridge officer sprang out of his seat and marched over immediately.

“Sir. The rebels have destroyed nearly all the towers in this sector.”

“And what have you done about it?”

“Sir I-”

“Switch over the source of the signals to this Star Destroyer. We’ll act as the beacon and guide the fleet out ourselves.”

The officer saluted and left, and Windrunner was pleased to see his plan immediately implemented. 

He surveyed the action of the bridge for a few moments, satisfied to see that recent leadership changes had done nothing to mar the efficiency of the First Order.  _ No _ , he corrected himself.  _ The Second Empire _ . Before long, the officer returned to his side.

“Sir. The signals have been picked up by the grounded Destroyers. They’re commencing liftoff.

Supreme Leader Windrunner smiled.

***

“Rey?” Ben asked, surprised. This couldn’t be her. It  _ felt _ like her, but wrong, somehow. Corrupted.

It wasn’t just the change in her outfit that was throwing Ben for a loop. That was the more minor concern. What really bothered him were her eyes. Their warm, sparkling, brown shade was gone, replaced by a sickly combination of yellow and red. Characteristic of a Sith.

“Aren’t you glad to see me, Ben?” Rey asked with a smile.

“I am, but…what happened to you?”

“To me?” She sounded confused. “You did.”

A wave of horror washed over him.

“You wanted me to take your hand, to give in to the Dark. Well, here I am, Ben. The Resistance is dying. The Jedi are dead. I’ve left the past behind me and embraced who I’m meant to be. Aren’t you happy?”

He could feel his heart breaking into a thousand pieces. Happy? He was the farthest thing from.

“All I ever wanted was to fight by your side. To change the system that wanted to mold us into something we aren’t. But this…” He took in her sickly expression, her sad, tired, eyes, her clothing that so closely mirrored those of Kylo Ren. “I don’t want this.”

“Hmm. Pity.”

The Sith Rey activated her lightsaber - red, double-bladed, hinged in the middle - and attacked.

*

“Ben?” Rey said, taking his hand and hopping down from the platform. “How did you get here so quickly?”

“There are things I can still teach you, Rey,” he said with a smirk. “Secrets of the Dark side.”

“The Dark side?” Rey said, pulling her hand back immediately. “Ben…”

“You still don’t get it, do you?” he said. “Ben Solo is dead. What was left of him died on that platform, when a murderous scavenger stabbed him in the chest.”

_ Murderous?  _

Rey was stunned. Was that how her actions had been perceived? Had she so thoroughly given into the Dark at that moment, that whatever goodness was left in Ben Solo had given up on them both, and disappeared forever? She searched his face for any trace of the goodness that occasionally shined through, as plain as day. Instead, she was greeted with the sight of his eyes, no longer hazel but a sickly red-tinged yellow. 

“Yes,” he said. “You feel it too. Ben Solo is gone at last. I am what remains.”

“Kylo,” Rey said, with understanding. He threw up his hands in acknowledgement. 

“Kylo,” he repeated. He extended his left hand, his right drifting down to hover near his waist. “What do you say, Rey? Are you ready to embrace your darkness and join me?”

Rey found that she’d unconsciously mirrored his motions. The fingers of her left hand extended towards him, while her other hand had settled on the hilt of the saber she wore clipped to her belt. 

She should take his hand. She  _ wanted _ to. But no, it was Ben she wanted. And he was gone forever, all thanks to her. She studied the man that stood before her, reached out in the Force and tried to feel for their connection, to call back what was left of the man she knew. She normally felt it so strongly when they were together, but now she hardly felt any different than she had since arriving on Coruscant. Had her actions on Kef Bir severed their connection once and for all?

But then she felt something, a tiny glimmer of hope in her heart that told her Ben was still alive somewhere. Close, even. Perhaps he still lived inside the man in front of her. Maybe she could-

It was then she noticed something about him. Something far more superficial than their connection in the Force, but which left her deeply shaken. When she’d stabbed Kylo Ren, the lightsaber had burned a huge hole through his clothing. But the man who stood before her was immaculately dressed, no rips or burns, not a stitch out of place. This wasn’t her Ben at all. 

Her eyes must have fixed on his abdomen because when she looked up, she saw him examining the same spot.

“Oh. I was hoping you wouldn’t notice that,” he said, before activating his lightsaber.

*

_ I’m in trouble _ , Ben thought as this twisted Sith version of Rey brought her double-bladed saber swinging towards him. Using the Force to call his own lightsaber into his hand, he activated it and used the cross guard to block her at the last possible second. 

For every strike she levied at him, he retaliated with equal strength. This wasn’t like their duel on the Death Star, or even on Starkiller Base, where she struck at him any which way she could. No. This Rey fought like a Sith. And if Ben wanted any chance of survival, he would have to draw on the Dark side again, to fight like Snoke had taught him. 

She spun her saberstaff, preparing to strike again, but this time he beat her to it. His lightsaber struck her own in such a way that one of her blades extinguished.

She switched her grip to a single-bladed stance at once and smirked.

“So he does remember how to fight back,” she observed, sounding slightly amused.

She resumed her forward press, forcing Ben backwards down the hallway. He was getting tired, and she could tell. She finally drove her lightsaber into his, both of them standing still, the blades pushing together, and their faces mere inches from one another’s in a reversed imitation of their first fight on Starkiller. 

“Ben,” Rey said. “The Dark side has taught me so much. Let me be your teacher. You don’t know what it is to truly give yourself over to it.”

But he did. He knew exactly what it was to be so lost in the dark you couldn’t see things for what they were, where you couldn’t even recognize yourself. As he struggled to both form the words to express this, and to push Rey off of him, he noticed something quite strange. 

Rey’s face flickered.

It couldn’t be a trick of the light, there was hardly any light down here to begin with, save the occasional torch. So what- _ ah ha _ .

Lurking further down the hall was a Sentinel, much like the one currently calling itself Emperor Palpatine. But this one looked…less somehow. Simpler. Cruder. And Ben had no doubt it was the source of the strange apparition currently trying to beat him into submission. 

Boosted by a sudden rush of adrenaline, Ben pushed Rey back hard enough that she stumbled. He raced towards the sentinel, and without a second thought, plunged his lightsaber directly into its glowing face. He felt a pop in his right hand, and his lightsaber went out. He tried to reactivate it, to no avail. 

The machine itself let out a mechanical whine, but the Rey that stood behind him let out a terrible blood curdling scream. One that sounded nothing like the Rey he knew.

“Fool,” Rey said in the cruel, clipped voice of Emperor Palpatine. “You had your chance. You won’t make it out of this temple.”

She then disappeared into nothingness. Even her lightsaber vanished when she did. He tried once more to reactivate his weapon, and when it didn’t respond, he simply clipped it to his belt and drew a small blaster instead.

Ben reached out into the Force, now more desperate to find Rey than ever. He could feel her. She was here, in the temple. But their connection was tenuous. Rey was in trouble. 

Feeling the conflict in her, how similar it was to what he’d been feeling moments ago, he knew she faced a similar foe. He pulled on their connection and called out.

_ Rey. _

*

The Sith Lord Kylo Ren continued his attack, and Rey matched him strike for strike. She was no longer some helpless scavenger swinging a sword in desperation over an injured friend. She had fought this man before. She knew his style. She also knew frustration drove him to distraction.

“You say Ben Solo is gone,” she called out, as they circled each other, both catching their breath. “I don’t believe you.”

“Believe it, scavenger,” he snapped. “You saw it yourself, on the Death Star. You know what has to happen. What’s going to happen.”

Recovered, he rushed her again. She blocked his strikes, but despair filled her. She knew the only way out of here would be to kill him, and she wasn’t prepared for that. It had nearly killed her back on Kef Bir when she thought he was dying at her hand. She didn’t know if she could put her feelings aside long enough to kill him on purpose. 

_ Rey. _

A voice,  _ his _ voice called out to her in the darkness. But the man before her hadn’t spoken a word. Their lightsabers were locked together, her blade hooked into his cross guard. She held him there and listened for the voice again.

_ Rey…not real…sentinel. Messenger droid. _

A messenger droid? This wasn’t real?

Sure enough, over Kylo Ren’s left shoulder she could just spot the faint glow of a droid. Her feelings told her that while this man was not the real Ben Solo, the voice that spoke to her had been. He was either closer than she realized, or he had passed into the Force like Master Skywalker, and was trying to help her now. Either way, she knew there was truth in his words, and she would listen.

She pushed Kylo back and swiped at his right arm. She felt her blade meet muscle and he dropped his lightsaber in pain. She bolted towards the sentinel, and in a spectacular move that would make her masters proud, she sliced it neatly in two. The screen winked out, and the man behind her let out a horrible, unnatural scream. She turned back to face him.

“Idiot,” he chuckled weakly, his voice no longer the deep one she knew, but a far older, higher one. “Had you but embraced the Dark side, this would have been so much simpler.”

Then, like a light switching off, Kylo Ren disappeared before her eyes.

*

Ben knew he had to get to Rey as soon as he could. He ran down the abandoned hallways, his connection to her acting as his guiding light. 

Eventually the narrow passageways gave way to a rocky ledge. Perhaps this had once been a balcony of sorts, but time and decay had done away with that, as well as any way of getting down to the chamber below. Ben spied a column that tilted slightly off-centre. If he could leap and grab it, he could use it to slide down. He was unconcerned with getting back up. All that mattered was getting to Rey.

He backed up to give himself a running start, then sprinted towards the column, leaping as far forward into the air as he could. 

He managed to grab a hold, but had gauged his own ability poorly. Rather than the elegant grab he’d envisioned, his entire torso slammed into the stone column. He’d managed to cushion his face by turning his head, but there was no doubt about it, his ribs were cracked.

“Ow,” he mumbled through gritted teeth before slowly sliding down the column as planned.

He dropped into a cavernous foyer and he knew he was getting close. He could sense Rey nearby. He turned left and sprinted towards what he knew was the main temple chamber, where Palpatine would be holding court. 

He was vaguely aware of a temple guard behind him. The guard raised his blaster but never stood a chance. Without looking, Ben raised his blaster and fired over his shoulder. The thud that followed shortly after told him the guard had hit the ground.

He could just see the open door to the main room of the temple when a tall figure dressed in black stepped out in front of him. Ben came to a skidding halt once he recognized the mask the figure wore. He looked around him, and sure enough here they were. They’d found him. The men who served under his command back when he went by a different name. 

His loyal Knights of Ren. 

*

Steadying her breath, Rey looked down at the sentinel, which now lay in two pieces before her. So the whole thing had been an illusion. A trick of the Dark side. But to what end? She could think about it later. Palpatine awaited. She proceeded towards the centre of the room, where a large dais rose in the centre, a single shaft of light shining down on it from somewhere high above, illuminating the otherwise dark space.

Before her, on the dais, stood a lone Sentinel, much like the one she’d just defeated. But this one seemed stronger, and more human. It’s eerie face glowed, and it seemed to watch her as she approached. She could hear chanting all around, a low, terrifying sound that seemed to have no source. The language was ancient, the words evil, and it made the hair on the back of Rey’s neck stand up. But however awful the chanting was, nothing had prepared Rey for the terrible, cruel voice that greeted her as she drew closer to the raised platform.

“Long have I waited…”

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Next update is already set to go so it won't be too long!
> 
> And thank you as always to my reader for her hilarious comments, which are truly what gets me through each chapter!


	13. Unity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He drew his blaster, Jannah and the others following suit. It wasn’t likely they’d be able to shoot their way out of this, but he wasn’t going down without a fight. 
> 
> “You lied to us,” Finn snapped. CB-7376 threw her hands in the air.
> 
> “It’s not what you think, let me explain.”

Rey had been prepared for anything. Or so she thought. 

She’d been prepared to face down an army of soldiers, or Force users, or creatures too terrible to imagine. What she hadn’t expected when she arrived in the Sith temple was to be greeted by a lone figure on a dais. One with an unnerving, glowing face. 

“Long have I waited…”

The figure turned its face towards her, the rest of its body remaining stock-still. It was a Sentinel droid, similar to the one she’d faced in the corridor. But this one seemed more human, somehow, and the realization sent a chill down her spine. The icy blue glow from it’s face illuminated the floor in front of Rey, lighting her path to the centre of the otherwise dark room. She removed the bag she still wore and let it drop to the floor, the two lightsabers inside clanking lightly against each other.

Rey was close enough now to get a better look at the figure’s face. It was that of an old man, greyish and unnaturally wrinkled, as though he’d been hit with something far more aggressive than the passage of time. She recognized the face from the old holos she’d seen back at the Resistance camp. This was Emperor Palpatine. 

“My apprentice,” Palpatine said indulgently. “I’d begun to wonder if you would ever find your way to me.”

“Apprentice?” Rey asked warily, her hand flying to the saber clipped to her belt. 

“My dear child. You cannot possibly think a Sith as powerful as yourself would go unnoticed? If only your foolish parents had brought you to me directly all those years ago. They would have incurred my favour, not my wrath. I trust you will not be so unwise.”

“I’m nothing like my parents,” Rey spat. “But they were right to keep me from you.” Panic rose within her. Palpatine was trying to goad her, and so far he was succeeding. 

“Good, good,” Palpatine drawled. “I had thought to take young Solo on as my apprentice. But he, you see, was too much like his parents. Too much heart. Too afraid to embrace the Dark. But not you. Your anger makes you powerful.”

“I’ll never embrace the Dark side,” Rey shot back. If her goal had been to not get angry, she was failing spectacularly.

“Oh, but you already have.”

The figure waved his hand and a blinding pain overtook Rey, knocking the wind out of her and forcing her to her knees. 

“No! No! Come baaaaack!” 

Rey could see herself, aged 5, being dragged across the sand by Unkar Plutt. Reaching up to the sky and delivering a fatal jolt of lightning to the transport that carried her parents.

She saw the forest on Starkiller Base, when she’d been so afraid for Finn she’d slashed Kylo Ren’s face open. Saw herself in Snoke’s throne room, taking down guard after guard, enjoying the retribution for the torture their late master had inflicted on her. Saw herself stab a training droid against a tree, blow up another transport in the desert, nearly drown Finn in the seas of Kef Bir. She saw herself stab Kylo Ren in the abdomen and nearly leave him for dead.

She forced her eyes open and blinked away tears, looking up at the figure with rage burning in her heart.

“You are capable of so much anger,” Palpatine said, still in the soft, indulgent tone. “In the hands of the right teacher, you can learn how to wield it. How to inspire the fear of which a Sith is worthy.”

The figure waved its hand again, and Rey was forced back into the nightmare, made to watch the worst moments of her life repeating over and over. 

“These pieces you brought me are worthless,” Unkar Plutt said, shoving the scavenged scraps back towards a ten-year old Rey.

“But that’s not what you said last week!” Rey protested. She needed those portions. She had nothing left back in the downed Imperial Walker she called home. She hadn’t eaten in days.

“The market changes, girl. You should know better. But here.” He shoved an eighth-portion towards her. “Consider this a token of my charitable nature.”

Rey was so overwhelmed by anger and frustration, that had she not been on the verge of fainting from hunger, she might have taught Plutt a lesson. In fact, she could probably muster it. His bones would break easily under the force of her bo staff. Perhaps she should-

“Rey?”

A voice cut in through the memory, bringing Rey back to the present. 

“Rey, hold on. I’m coming for you, Rey, just hold on.”

She knew this voice. Ben, her Ben, was here.

Strengthened by this realization, Rey rose shakily to her feet. 

“Your will is strong.” Palpatine sounded impressed. “But your anger overwhelms you.”

Rey unclipped her saber and activated it. She stood just below the Sentinel and raised it. All she would have to do is climb the platform and end him. But to her surprise, Palpatine chuckled.

“Excellent. It is in the very nature of the Sith to kill their masters. It is how we become masters ourselves. Do it. Strike me down and I will help you realize your potential, lead the Sith as you were meant to.”

What nonsense was this? Rey raised the saber higher. She ought to strike him down while he stood there, if only to put an end to his ceaseless chatter. Unless that was what he wanted. She was so confused. A stirring to her left caught her attention, and she risked turning her head slightly for a better look. 

There stood Ben.

And it truly was Ben, not some simulation from a sentinel. He looked at her as though she were the only person in the world who mattered. The warmth in his eyes and the small smile on his face made him look younger, and freer. The scar she’d left on his face a year ago was still there, but even that had become less pronounced. The sight of him - looking so unburdened after shaking off the mantle of the Dark side - caused her anger to ebb, and she could feel it draining out of her. 

She felt a nudge on the string that connected their souls and she knew he wasn’t really standing in the chamber. It was the Force connecting them once again. She couldn’t see his surroundings, all she could see was him. He didn’t have his lightsaber, only a small blaster. And he was in trouble, she knew this as plainly as if she herself faced whatever danger he was currently facing. Then again, anything that would threaten half her soul was a threat to her as well. 

Once he realized she could see him, the smile on his face broadened. She knew how to help him, or how she could try. But there was no way to know if her plan would work. She looked back into Ben’s eyes. They radiate confidence and belief in her plan. He nodded almost imperceptibly. 

Rey raised her right arm so far overhead, the blade and hilt of the saber disappeared behind her back. She reached into the Force, probing at her connection to Ben. Through her Force-induced haze, she could see the sentinel almost bracing itself for a fatal blow.  
She felt the faintest, almost ghost-like brush of fingertips against her right hand. When she brought her arm back down, a triumphant smile on her face, the lightsaber had vanished.

***

  
If this is a trap, she’s taking forever to spring it, Finn thought bitterly as CB-7376 led them down yet another twisty corridor in the warren that was the barracks basement. 

“Sorry, you never said. What is Shadow Legion?” he asked after a couple of minutes.

“There is a group of captains and commanders who…disagree…with the methods of the First Order. Those we command largely feel the same way. We’ve been meeting in secret as often as we can for months now. We help struggling stormtroopers break their conditioning. We encourage small acts of defiance and resistance. Nothing major, of course, we’d all be executed if they traced it back to us.”

“A rebellion?” Finn asked, brightening.

“Inspired by your example.”

“And the name?”

“It sounded juuuuust menacing enough that we could pass it off as team building or something if it was accidentally mentioned.”

Finn laughed. Something about this trooper reminded him so much of Rose. Perhaps it was her general cheerful demeanour, but more likely it was the optimism that absolutely radiated whenever she spoke. 

“I just can’t believe Shadow Legion is real,” Jannah whispered. 

“You’ve heard of us?” CB-7376 asked, sounding confused.

“Our entire company is made up of stormtroopers who defected,” Jannah said proudly.

They finally stopped in front of a large set of doors that opened onto an old sparring room that had long fallen into disrepair. A couple dozen heads turned their way as they entered. Everyone was dressed in stormtrooper armour, though none wore their helmets. However, Finn barely noticed this. Instead he was horrified to see that some of them had stood up and were pointing weapons at them. 

He drew his blaster, Jannah and the others following suit. It wasn’t likely they’d be able to shoot their way out of this, but he wasn’t going down without a fight. 

“You lied to us,” Finn snapped. CB-7376 threw her hands in the air.

“It’s not what you think, let me explain.” She removed her helmet, and set it down. Instead of addressing Finn directly, she turned to the room at large.

“Shadow Legion. We’ve long desired to push back against our conditioning, and against the First Order. We are here because we do not have a choice, and see no way out. But with me today is a former stormtrooper, FN-2187, though these days he goes by Finn.”

At the mention of his stormtrooper number, the crowd murmured and shifted around. A couple leaned forward slightly to get a better look at him. A noise by the door made CB-7376 pause, but it was merely two more stormtroopers slipping in to join the assembly. 

“Right now a battle for the future of the galaxy is waging overhead. If we are ever going to break free, to make things better for everyone, then the time has come. We need to stop talking, and planning, and preparing for the future. That day is today. We need to act now! Finn?”

CB-7376 stepped aside, inviting Finn to take the floor. Finn hesitated, and turned to Jannah.

“What do I do?” he whispered. 

“You lead them…General,” Jannah replied with a smile. 

Finn stepped forward and looked around, but words wouldn’t come. He’d never made a big speech like this on his own before. He usually let others start, then took over once the crowd was warmed up and the tasks were all but assigned. It was usually Poe who did this kind of stuff, who was good at it. 

Poe. He didn’t even know if he would ever see Poe again after all this. He’d have to step up and lead if he ever wanted a chance to make it back and tell Poe that he loved him. His hand found the chain around his neck. Gripping the ring on the end to reassure himself, he began to speak.

“I don’t know what to say to you all that you don’t already know. You know the system is unjust. You know what it’s like for every single one of us unfortunate enough to pass through this war machine they call a government. You’ve taken the first steps towards breaking this horrible cycle.” 

Finn paused and pointed towards CB-7376.

“But she’s right. As we speak there is the fight of our lives going on overhead. Our friends are out there trying to give the galaxy a fighting chance, and with every passing minute, with every Star Destroyer that lifts off into the atmosphere that becomes close to impossible. But I know with your help, and with the help of the troopers in your command, we’ve actually got a shot at stopping some of those Destroyers.”

He couldn’t believe how they were hanging on his every word. Some were even leaning forward, like Resistance fighters did when Leia was speaking. 

“If you’re not prepared to stand with us, then you walk out that door knowing you’ve condemned the galaxy to an eternity of misery. But if you follow us? If you’re prepared to lead your troops into the fight for what’s right? Then we actually have a shot at winning this thing. What do you say?”

Finn expected some deliberation, maybe quiet agreement, and he was surprised when he heard a cheer instead. 

“Well done!” Jannah said, clapping him on the back.

“Yeah, well. That was the easy part.” 

***

Hux hovered near the back of the room after FN-2187 - after Finn - had spoken. The commander who’d accompanied him in had long since disappeared into the small crowd to help strategize and receive further instructions for her unit. Unlike the others, Hux had kept his helmet on, which seemed smart at first, but as he was the only one still wearing it, this only made him stick out.

“What’s your name, friend?”, asked one of the troopers, a man with scars cutting through his decidedly non-regulation facial scruff. There was something vaguely familiar about him, though Hux couldn’t place him. Instead, he eyed him warily from inside the helmet, and said nothing. But it seemed the man wouldn’t back away without an answer.

“Ar-.” Hux stopped himself just in time. He’d nearly said “Armitage”, and while he was reasonably confident most troopers didn’t actually know his first name, he didn’t want to take an unnecessary risk. 

“Archer,” he finished. “They call me Archer.”

“Who does?” the trooper asked, the suspicion on his face making it clear he’d heard Hux’s hesitation.

“My squadron…former squadron.”

“Former?”

“All dead. Training exercise,” he said, using the age-old excuse for a mission that had gone badly and needed to be covered up.

“Yeah? How’d you manage to survive?”

“I was…kept behind that day,” Hux said, wincing at how weak the excuse sounded.

“Mmm.” The trooper eyed Hux warily. “You can remove your helmet, you know. We’re among friends here.”

“I would…rather not. I feel unsafe doing so.”

“Well I feel kind of unsafe not knowing who I’m speaking to.”

“Oh leave him alone, GK-4101,” called another trooper, a young man with a good natured face, as he came over to join them.

“I’m just not sure I can trust him. How do we know he isn’t here to rat us out to the generals? Or worse, to Hux?”

Hux fought the urge to laugh.

“I’m sure he won’t,” the friendly trooper said before turning to Hux. “You’ll have to excuse him, he gets nervous. He ended up on the wrong side of General Hux a few years back. Still has the scars to show for it.”

The one called GK-4101 reached up and touched the largest scar on his face almost unconsciously. Hux felt sick. That was why the man looked familiar. He’d done this to the trooper, though for the life of him he couldn’t remember why. 

“That’s…horrible. Though Hux is a brilliant strategist-” He stopped himself short. Wouldn’t do to sing his own praises, it would gain him no points. And he doubted the average trooper would defend the maniacal General Hux anyway? “But he’s…cruel. Twisted. A monster.”

Easy, don’t lay it on too thick. But this seemed to work, since both troopers nodded in agreement. 

Before Hux could lose the two tenuous allies he had, he decided a little humanity could go a long way. He set his blaster down and removed the glove from his left hand. He rolled the tight black sleeve of his bodysuit over his forearm, hissing slightly in pain. 

On Hux’s arm, to the horror of the two troopers, were the fresh and unmistakeable marks of a torture droid. It had poked, scraped and burned him until he’d lost consciousness, and there was only so much a single stim canister could do for it. If he lived to see the end of the war, he’d carry the scars with him for the rest of his life. 

“They thought I had information on the spy,” Hux said, figuring a partial truth was the way to go. “I didn’t have anything they didn’t already know. Not that that put a stop to the…proceedings. I’m sure you understand my hesitation to reveal my identity.”

“This is why we’re here,” the younger man said, nudging GK-4101. “To overthrow a system that does things like this to innocent people. I’m HL-9607 by the way,” he added, shaking Hux’s exposed hand gently.

Hux sat on a recently vacated bench, breathing a little easier. He’d managed to lie smoothly and avoid detection, which was all he needed to do to make it off Coruscant alive. But seeing how those men trusted him, how they’d believed him with virtually no proof and were willing to fight to avenge him? That left him with a sick feeling in his stomach that he couldn’t quite place.

“I….I’m sorry,” GK-4101 said finally. “For what they did to you.” 

“As am I, for what was done to you.” 

Though he’d only intended to placate by reciprocating the sentiment, Armitage Hux was astonished to realize a small - very small - part of him had meant every word he said.

***

The closer Ben got to Rey, the easier she became to sense. She was in danger. Her heart and mind were on the verge of being turned to the Dark side. And the pain. Her soul was in unimaginable pain. He knew he had to get to her, to pull her out of the darkness before Palpatine pushed her down into that abyss Ben had only just managed to crawl out of.

He nearly doubled over as another wave of pain washed over Rey, and he did the only thing he could think to do. He drew on their bond and called out to her, telling her to hold on. It must have worked, because the anguish ebbed almost instantly. 

Through the Force, he could see her standing alone, rising to her feet, preparing to strike someone with a lightsaber. Palpatine, presumably. He wouldn’t make it to her on time, not before she killed Palpatine in anger and allowed a piece of him into her mind and soul forever. 

Rey stayed her hand and turned, looking right into Ben’s eyes. One look at the familiar glint in her eyes, and Ben knew this was his Rey, and that she hadn’t been turned yet. 

He could tell by her stare, the way that her eyes flitted around, that she was wordlessly assessing his situation, and that she knew he was in trouble too. She had a plan. Ben nodded at her slightly, to let her know that whatever she was thinking, he was confident it would work. 

She raised her right hand behind her back, taking the saber with it, and he mirrored her actions, as their bond told him he should. He felt his fingers brush against soft skin for the briefest of moments, before his hand closed around a metal hilt. 

He brought his arm back down, his grandfather’s lightsaber in his possession at last.

The Knights, surprised to see their former leader so suddenly armed, took a step back and clutched their weapons all the tighter. They raised them, prepared to attack, and Ben knew they would be merciless. 

He extended his arms outwards, a wordless invitation for the fight to begin, then brought the lightsaber swinging towards the closest Knight.

He couldn’t keep relying on his worst instincts. It was bad enough he’d done it once already with the sentinel. He couldn’t draw on the Dark side whenever it suited him. If he did that it would eventually overwhelm him again. He knew how he would fight if he still fought with the Knights of Ren. But the Dark side no longer ruled him. 

It was time to fight like a Jedi. 

The Force felt different when used in this way. Even in battle, it felt more practiced and peaceful. Far less aggressive. Though he hadn’t drawn on the Light side in years, he could feel everything Luke had taught him returning to the forefront of his memory. When his mind faltered, his muscles guided him through familiar motions. He alternated between using the lightsaber to deflect blows and using the Force to push his adversaries back. 

Pausing briefly, and turning away to catch his breath, he kept his saber behind his back to ward off stray blaster bolts. He dispatched the last of the Knights in short order then quickly scanned around him to make sure they were, in fact, out of commission. They were likely dead, but Ben couldn’t dwell on it. They’d been ready to kill him, and it wasn’t as though he hadn’t taken a life before. In any case, Rey was waiting for him. 

Ben sprinted the last few meters into the temple’s main atrium, where Palpatine waited on his dais. Where Rey stood before him, a second blue-bladed lightsaber in her hands.   
He slowed down as he approached her, and their eyes locked. He had never been so relieved. She was alive, she was safe, she still hadn’t turned to the Dark. Their connection was stronger than ever before, so much so that they had actually started breathing in tandem. 

It’s only right, he thought, since every breath he drew, he owed to her anyway. He’d have to thank her properly when - if - they made it out alive. Exhaling together, Rey and Ben lifted their lightsabers and turned to face the waiting Sentinel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hux is having A Feeling. I wonder how he's going to cope...
> 
> I'm so happy you've made it this far, and that you're enjoying it! We're in the home stretch now!


	14. Power

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “A dyad in the Force,” Palpatine said. “A power unseen for generations.”
> 
> How? Rey thought, unable to give voice to the questions racing through her head. How does he know we’re a dyad?
> 
> I don’t know , came Ben’s reply, to her surprise. This is my fault, I never should have-
> 
> No, Ben. Everything that’s happened has only brought us together. Don’t apologize for that.
> 
> Rey, I-
> 
> But whatever Ben had been thinking was cut short by Palpatine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick note to say that I've added a tag for minor character death.
> 
> One happens in Poe's section, one in Hux's, so be mindful of that!

Rey had never trusted in another person as much as she did when she passed the lightsaber to Ben. He would fight his way out. He would find his way to her. Together they would stop Palpatine.

A dyad in the Force, working together at last.

The moment she felt the lightsaber leave her hand, she reached out and called Leia’s saber to her. It flew out of her bag and across the room, landing squarely in her palm. She activated it instantly and resumed her defensive stance before Palpatine. 

It was only after Ben had arrived, and the two of them stood side by side, sabers raised, that she noticed Palpatine had more of his Sentinels in the Temple. They had moved out of the shadows and stood behind him, an eerie lineup of droids glaring down at them both..

“Soon, the Jedi will be no more,” Palpatine sneered. “The Sith are reborn!”

He raised his arms to his sides, and drew so heavily on the Dark side, the very air seemed to crackle with it. It seemed to Rey that the Sentinels grew dimmer and dimmer by the second, but she wasn’t given much opportunity to contemplate it. Red-robed Sith acolytes and cultists flew out of the shadows and drew their weapons, blocking Rey and Ben’s access to Palpatine. 

“Stand together, _die together!_ ” Palpatine said, his cruel voice sounding stronger than Rey had ever heard it. 

The acolytes rushed towards them, and both Rey and Ben assumed identical fighting stances. As they fought off the first volley, Rey was reminded of the fight in Snoke’s throne room, the first time she and Ben had worked together as a team. 

This time was nothing like that. While their goal then had been the same, there was so much uncertainty. Uncertainty about what had connected them through the Force, about where their allegiances lay. Even about how they felt for one another. There was none of that here. Their bond was as strong as it had ever been, their connection linking them in such a way that they could both anticipate the other's next moves. For the first time since their connection had begun, the energy that linked them felt solid. Tangible. Almost as though if she looked down, Rey would be able to see an actual string connecting his soul to hers. 

Perhaps sensing that she was thinking of him, Ben looked over at her for the briefest moment and smiled. How had she never appreciated what a nice smile he had.

 _Probably because he hasn’t ever smiled at me before_ , Rey thought, smiling a little herself. Ben’s gaze lingered on her for a moment too long. An acolyte ran up behind him, out of his field of vision, weapon raised. In a panic, Rey threw her lightsaber at the acolyte, then summoned it back with the Force once it had cut through the man’s torso. 

That seemed to rattle Ben, who turned back to the urgent matter at hand. They took out wave after wave of adversary, sometimes individually, sometimes working as a team. Rey would disarm an acolyte only for Ben to deliver the final blow. Or Ben would propel a cultist towards Rey, only for her to stop them in their tracks with her lightsaber. 

At last, they had stopped the last of the acolytes, and trying not to dwell at the number of bodies on the temple floor, Rey stepped towards Palpatine once more, with Ben following immediately after. She looked up at the would-be Emperor.

Something had changed. 

His Sentinels had slumped forward, lifeless, their faces no longer glowing. Their very essence seemed to have grown dim. By contrast, Palpatine looked stronger, and more whole. Though he had already appeared more lifelike than the other Sentinels, the figure that stood before them was even more so. His face no longer glowed like that of a machine, but appeared almost to be made of flesh. 

“My Sentinels,” he drawled, “have served their true purpose.”

He raised a hand and extinguished Rey and Ben’s lightsabers, then with a wave of his hand forced them to their knees. Rey felt as though hands of iron were holding her in place. She couldn’t move a muscle, couldn’t cry out, couldn’t do anything but look up at Palpatine in horror. Though she couldn’t turn her head to see him, she knew Ben found himself in a similar predicament.

“A dyad in the Force,” Palpatine said. “A power unseen for generations.”

 _How?_ Rey thought, unable to give voice to the questions racing through her head. _How does he know we’re a dyad?_

 _I don’t know_ , came Ben’s reply, to her surprise. _This is my fault, I never should have-_

_No, Ben. Everything that’s happened has only brought us together. Don’t apologize for that._

_Rey, I-_

But whatever Ben had been thinking was cut short by Palpatine. He seemed to consider for a moment, then raised his other hand.

A sensation like an icy death grip enveloped Rey, sinking down to the depths of her soul. She felt as if she were being torn apart. Even the torture Snoke had inflicted upon her had not been so painful. And the worst part of it all was that Palpatine still held such a grip on her body that she couldn’t scream. 

The string connecting her and Ben was being pulled to it’s breaking point. Whatever it was Palpatine was doing to her, he was doing to Ben as well. The Force knew what their minds were not ready to admit. They were dying.

***

“Poe?” came Jessika’s panicked voice. “What’s happening?”

But Poe didn’t know what to tell her. They’d hit every navigation tower, not to mention disabled all coms. How were the Destroyers navigating out? In any case, it was too late to solve the problem here. The higher the Destroyers got, the harder it would be to navigate around them and the derelict structures on this side of the planet.

“Let’s get out of here. Out of atmosphere, let’s go!” Poe called.

“Then what?” Karé asked. 

“Just rendezvous with the rest of the Resistance fleet and we’ll take it from there.”

The Resistance fleet. What a joke. It was nothing short of pure desperation that made a small cluster of questionable-quality ships look anything like a fleet. Perhaps they had reached the point of trying what that tech, Beaumont, had referred to as a “Holdo Manoeuvre”. Perhaps they truly were that desperate. 

As Poe’s X-Wing climbed higher into the darkness of space, he shook his head in resignation. He knew if he thought the plan had a chance, his pilots would perform the manoeuvre in a heartbeat. They were ready to lay their lives on the line for the cause, and would do it if he asked them. But what was the point? Their ships would probably crumple on impact. They weren’t big enough to tear through a Destroyer. 

Black Squadron fell in with the rest of the ships above Coruscant and hovered, clearly waiting for his instructions. He didn’t have a plan, but he wasn’t about to let them sit here and get picked off one by one.

“Fan out,” Poe said, trying not to let panic creep into his voice. “Fan out, hit them as they come. If, and _only_ if you manage to break through, see if you can find a weakness in the Destroyer. An exhaust port. Anything.”

And because that was the kind of leader he was, Poe hit the accelerator and led the charge.

Black Squadron and the Resistance ships dispersed immediately into the chaos. TIE fighters screamed towards them in waves. It was all the rebels could do to stay out of the way and stay alive while also trying to take out as many TIE’s as possible.

“Snap,” Karé called out. “Snap, you’ve got a few on your tail.”

“I can shake them!” Snap said, but his tone conveyed none of the confidence his words suggested. 

Snap weaved in and out of TIE fighters, but it was no use, there were simply too many of them. If he lost one on his tail, another three waited to take its place. 

“Snap, pull back, it’s too risky!” Poe ordered.

“I’m fine!”

“No, Snap!” Karé yelled into her comm. The usually neutral tone she used with her husband when they were working was long gone, leaving fear and desperation in its place.

The TIE fighter closest to Snap fired and struck the left side, sending the X-Wing into a tailspin. 

“I love you, Karé,” Snap said, before his comms cut out and he crashed into the side of a Destroyer.

Poe watched the events unfold with the sinking horror that often came in situations like this. He was supposed to be in charge and was unable to save his friend. He felt bile rising in his throat. This was the _Raddus_ all over again. His mistakes were, once again, getting good people killed. He couldn’t let himself dwell on it. There was the ever present threat of the First Order. And within his squadron there were other hearts breaking more than his own.

“Karé?” Poe said, tentatively. 

There was no response.

“Karé, do you copy?”

“Yeah,” said a hoarse voice after a moment. “I’m here. I’m fine.”

“You don’t have to-” Have to what? What could he say to her now that would be of any use?

“Let’s finish this and go home,” Karé said, cutting him off. “Then I’ll worry about what I ‘have to’.”

Poe had been flying with Black Squadron for so long that he could recognize each of his pilot’s flying styles, and could tell who was who in the middle of a dogfight like this. He could now see Karé’s ship flying with more aggression and determination than he’d ever seen from her before. She flew like someone who’d just lost the love of their life. 

_That could have been any of us_ , Poe thought, still fighting the sick feeling rising in his throat. _It still could be._ Snap had died thinking only of how much he loved Karé, and he made sure she knew it. He didn’t waste time looking for the right words, or waiting until this was all over. 

“Jess? Take over for a second, I’m going to check in on the ground crew.”

“You got it,” Jess replied.

Finn switched channels, then opened a different communication line. 

“Finn?” Poe called. “Finn, do you copy?”

“Poe?” Finn’s voice crackled through the comms after a moment. Poe could hear him, albeit with some difficulty. Finn must be in a hard to reach location.

“Finn,” Poe didn’t know where to start. “It’s bad out here. Real bad.”

“We’ve….plan…stop….” 

Poe swore. Reception was deteriorating and he still hadn’t said what he meant to say. He would have to do this now or die in the cold vacuum of space wishing he had. 

“Wait, wait. Stop. Can you hear me?” Poe asked.

“Yeah…”

“I love you, Finn. I have for…a while. And I really should have said something sooner. We could have had time together, _actual_ time together. But now…I just didn’t want to die alone up here without telling you. I hope I get to see you again, but…it’s not looking good.”

Poe felt a weight lift off his chest. There. He said it. He heard Finn’s comm key on but didn’t hear any voices. He probably couldn’t get a signal out. Poe wondered if Finn had heard anything he said. Before he could dwell on it any longer, Jessika joined him on the ground crew channel.

“We need you, Poe.”

He switched back over in time to hear cries of panic as more Destroyers rose into the air. They were outnumbered a thousand to one, with more First Order troops on the way, and no help was coming. The galaxy had abandoned them yet again, and left them to fight alone. 

***

Palpatine released his control on them and they both slumped to the floor. Rey took a shaky breath. Then another. Once she was confident she could rise without falling back over, she did so. 

Palpatine had moved closer. He was flexing his fingers, which had lost any remaining robotic qualities. 

“A power like life itself,” he said, more to himself than to Rey, before noticing that she was no longer lying on the floor. 

“It’s remarkable, isn’t it?” he said. “The difference in strength between two halves of a whole.”

He motioned to the floor, where Ben still lay, conscious but struggling to breathe. One of his hands was clutching his ribs, and that seemed to be the primary cause of his pain. 

“Ben!” Rey said, rushing forward to try and help.

“Ah ah ah, not so fast!” Palpatine said flinging Rey back a few paces, sending her sprawling on the floor once again. As Rey slowly got to her feet, Palpatine forced Ben upright so that he was kneeling before him once more. 

“My child, how do you not see? I drew on your life force, and that of young Ben Solo to restore myself, and yet only one of you managed to rise once more. You, born of traitors and weak-minded, managed to rise. Yet this one, with the blood of the mighty Anakin Skywalker in his veins…”

He trailed off and let Rey take in his words. Though he couldn’t move a muscle, Rey senses immense physical pain rolling off of him in waves. He was injured.

“Let me heal him,” Rey said, surprised at the soft pleading in her own voice. “Let me heal him, then I-”

The what? She would promise herself to him as his apprentice, if that’s what it took to get Ben out alive? She could not envision a scenario where they would both walk away from this together, and it seemed neither could Palpatine.

“Don’t be a fool. He is dying. If he succumbs to his injuries, the power created by your bond dies with him.” He paused. “Then I would have no reason to leave you alive, either.”

_What? So what does he-_

“However, there is a way for one of you to walk away unharmed. All you have to do is make one simple choice, Rey.”

Unbidden, Luke’s words to her on Jakku flew to the front of her mind. The lesson about how the shared powers of a dyad passed wholly onto one half. _This_ was the true reason Palpatine had wanted Ben to bring her to him.

“Kill him,” Palpatine bit out. “Kill him, take on the full power of the dyad, and assume your role as my apprentice.”

***

_What did Poe just say?_

Finn had heard him just fine, and judging by the look on her face, so had Jannah. But he couldn’t believe it all the same. Poe loved him? He could feel a grin creeping up on his face in spite of himself. 

“Poe,” he said into his comm. If this was confessing-your-feelings-before-certain-doom time, then Finn was not passing up the opportunity.

No response. He tried again, but still nothing. 

“I don’t think much gets out down here,” Jannah said. 

“Well then let’s get going,” Finn said, pocketing his comm, his grin having changed into a full-on smile. “Let’s finish this thing now, and make it out alive. I have a message to deliver, and I’m not missing my chance.”

He grabbed at the ring around his neck and slipped it back under his collar, where it slid down to rest over his heart.

“Ready?” Jannah asked.

“Ready,” he replied, following her out of the barracks. 

The plan was simple. At least in theory. 

The leaders of Shadow Legion had split up, each heading back to their squadrons. They would rally their troops, and each board a Star Destroyer before it had the chance to take off. Once it was in the air, each squadron would seize the bridge, incapacitating the officers, and offering the troopers on board the chance to join with the Resistance. As many of the soldiers in Shadow Legion suspected, and as Finn knew for sure, sometimes all it took was a little push to sell them on the idea of fighting for the right side.

And if Finn had his way, every conscripted soul on board would have that chance to be pushed. 

When the teams had split off, Finn and Jannah’s crew had acquired a new member. Figuring they would need someone more familiar with Shadow Legion and current First Order protocols, CB-7376 - or Ceebee as Finn was starting to think of her - had volunteered to accompany them. 

The company made their way as stealthily as they could through the docking area. They did not have the same benefits as the others, as none of them other than Ceebee had Stormtrooper armour. With this in mind Ceebee elected to leave her armour behind in the training room, keeping only her blaster and her communicator. She removed the white plastoid, until she stood in only the black bodysuit. While it did make her stand out somewhat, everyone in the company agreed that a lone stormtrooper wandering around would attract far more attention.

Finn had always known that Star Destroyers were enormous, but hadn’t really appreciated how colossal they were until this moment. He felt as though he were standing underneath a horizontal building that could fall and land on him at any moment. As such, he was extremely keen to move out from underneath the Destroyer, and get on board as soon as possible. These things didn’t feel quite so terrifying on the inside.

Deciding not to even attempt entry from one of the boarding ramps, the company found a loading hatch left open by a couple of service droids who had gone to fetch more crates of bacta. 

Together, Finn and Jannah hoisted Aldi onto the load lifter, which sat a good six feet off the ground, followed shortly by Ceebee. One by one, they helped the seven other members of their company climb onto the platform before then being helped up themselves. Once they were all standing clustered together, Finn keyed in a command and the lift slowly rose into the bowels of the Star Destroyer.

They worked their way around the crates and out into the service corridor beyond. 

“We should split up,” Finn said, suddenly. 

“What?” Ceebee said.

“If we all charge onto the bridge like this, we may be able to take it, but that leaves the rest of the ship still under First Order control.”

“He’s right, we should split up,” Jannah said. 

“I don’t like this. What can small teams of two or three accomplish?” Ceebee asked. 

Finn was starting to understand why Shadow Legion hadn’t made a move against the First Order yet. They were all so afraid of challenging authority too blatantly. 

Still, she had a point. 

“I can’t explain it. But I know that if we want any chance of succeeding we have to split up. We’ll divide into two teams. Half of us take the bridge, the other half take engineering. That way they can’t override any systems to use them against us.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Aldi and Ceebee took half the crew and headed for engineering, while Finn, Jannah, and the three remaining members of the crew headed for the bridge. 

They felt the ground lurch below their feet and knew the Star Destroyer was rising into the skies above Coruscant. 

“We’re too late!” Jannah hissed.

“No. No. We can still turn this around!” Finn said, determined to sound more confident than perhaps he felt. 

They took an indirect path towards the bridge, ducking in and out of service corridors, trying to stay out of sight. Finn knew they had almost certainly been spotted on the security holos, but with the entire ship preparing for battle, it was unlikely anyone was looking at them all that closely. 

“We’re almost there!” Finn said, picking up the pace and speaking a bit louder than he’d meant to. 

“About time!” Jannah said. And indeed, by that point, the brightly hued skies of Coruscant had long since given way to the cold and dark of space. 

Finn opened the door to emerge into the main hallway and charged through without looking, barrelling directly into a squad of stormtroopers. 

“Here they are!” said the trooper wearing a captain’s insignia. The squad spread out and each seized one of the rebels. 

“Take them to the bridge with the other scum,” the captain ordered.

 _The other-oh no_ . _They must have caught the rest._

Sure enough, when they arrived on the bridge, they found Aldi, Ceebee, and the others on their knees, faces bloodied.

“I shot one, Jannah,” Aldi said weakly. “But we never even made it to engineering.”

He spat out a mouthful of blood.

“You were brilliant, I just know it,” Jannah replied in a conciliatory tone.

“Perfect,” the officer on duty said. “You’ve arrived just in time to see what happens to any stormtroopers who would dare defect and take up with terrorists.”

 _This is it,_ Finn thought. He had come this far only to fail at the last second. Poe would be heartbroken. So would his friends. But he would die doing what they set out to do, and he could only hope that the other members of Shadow Legion fared better than they had.

Finn looked up and saw the looks on the faces of the other rebels, the ones who had only defected because of his example. Aldi, who was still so young. Ceebee, who was only here because she’d made a split second decision to trust him. They would all die now because of him.

As one, the stormtroopers behind each rebel lifted their blasters and held them against the backs of their heads. As panic seized all those around him, Finn felt an eerie sense of calm wash over him, as though a voice whispered in his ear, telling him he could stop all this right now, if only he would listen.

“No!” Finn shouted, throwing his hands out to the side in a move driven by pure instinct. A powerful shockwave emanated from his hands, knocking back stormtroopers and officers alike before any of them had a chance to react. The rebels pitched forward, then quickly scrambled to their feet and disarmed their would-be executioners. 

“What was _that?_ ” Jannah asked, incredulous.

Finn shrugged and shook his head, but deep down, he knew exactly what that was.

 _The Force_.

***

“No!” Rey cried, finally finding her voice. “I won’t. You’ve been stopped before.”

“I have also returned, as you can see. You wish to stop me once and for all, child? The only way is to complete the cycle as all Sith apprentices do, and to kill your master once your training is concluded.”

Rey hardly felt like this was the _only_ way to stop Palpatine, but neither could she see any way out of this. If she waited at an impasse like this for too long, he would kill them both and that would be the end of it. 

“Rey,” Ben said, weakly.

“Ben?” 

She hurried forward again, and this time wasn’t stopped by Palpatine. She knelt in front of Ben and looked him in the eye

“It’s okay Rey. Just do it. Kill me if you have to, just get yourself out.”

His eyes were as soft as she’d ever seen them, and despite how strained he sounded, she knew in her heart he meant every word.

“I won’t. I can’t lose you only to then become a Sith apprentice. We’ll find another way!”

“No, Rey,” he said, before pausing to grit his teeth in pain. “You won’t become a Sith apprentice. There’s too much Light in you. You’ve fought it off time and time again. The Darkness won’t take. If you need to kill me to save yourself...you should. I want you to.”

He truly believed that. Rey could see it. And while she had managed to let the Light win out every time, would the act of killing half her soul be the one that finally sent her over the edge?

She reached out and gently brushed her fingers over the scar she’d left on his cheek.

“Ben-”

“Enough of this,” came a voice from behind Rey. A quick motion of Palpatine’s hand lifted Ben into the air. Rey shot to her feet and watched, horrified, as Palpatine threw Ben across the room and directly into one of the old stone columns. He slammed into it with a grunt of pain, then very quickly hit the floor. 

“So falls the last Skywalker,” Palpatine sneered.

  
  
  


***

_I am in over my head_ , Hux thought as he marched onboard a Star Destroyer, flanked by GK-4101 on one side and HL-9607 on the other. He had only just managed to escape the bowels of these infernal starships, and here he was, willingly boarding another. He failed to see how this would aid in his escape, but he also knew that turning his back now was not an option. So he took his chances.

When the time came to hand out assignments, he quietly mentioned to HL-9607, the more sympathetic of his two new colleagues, that he had defected from his own division. A division that most decidedly did not form part of Shadow Legion. HL-9607 immediately requested that their new friend Archer be assigned with himself and GK-4101. Hux winced at the word “friend”. He knew this man would not take such a kind view of him if he knew who he really was.

“Since we’ll be marching together,” HL-9607 had said back in the training room. “You can go ahead and call me Hal. Everyone in the unit does!”

“Hal,” Hux said, trying to keep his disdain for stormtrooper nicknames out of his voice. True, he’d told them to address him as Archer, but that was different. That was a lie to cover up an error. What was their excuse?

“That one over there, we call him Track,” Hal said, gesturing towards GK-4101.

“Track?” 

“I tried to get them to change it,” Track said, shrugging. “But it took, so…”

They marched on board the Star Destroyer, the subtly-named _Devastation_ , and every trooper in Shadow Legion split off at once to report to their duties. This was their regular posting after all. Hux accompanied Hal and Track to their post, the security station positioned just over one of the hangar bays.

“You know once we get in there, it’s not going to be pretty,” Track said, turning to look back at Hux. “We’re going to have to take out the officer, and if the troopers won’t join with us, we’ll need to take them out too.”

“How many are we expecting?” Hux asked, feeling interested in spite of himself.

“It’s usually no more than 3 or 4 at a time, including the officer. Why? Squeamish?”

“No!” Hux said at once. “I’ve taken a life before.”

But it had been years since he’d actively been in a combat situation. The troopers he’d eliminated to free the rebels were the first beings he’d killed in recent memory. He hoped he still had it in him. 

They charged into the security station. As planned, Hal immediately shot the officer who’d made a feeble attempt to apprehend them. The three stormtroopers, surprised by the rapid turn of events, trained their blasters on the newcomers. As one, Jack and Hal reached up and removed their helmets. Hux had been so caught up in the moment, he reached up to do the same. It was only as he heard the helmet disengage from the armour that he came to his senses and put his hands down. 

“Easy,” Hal said, raising his hands in the air but not letting go of his blaster. “We’re with Shadow Legion, we’re going to take the ship and turn it against the First Order. Will you fight with us?”

He spoke with the practiced air of someone who had memorized a short and simple script.

“Shadow Legion?” One of the still masked troopers said. “The traitors?”

“I called it in,” another said. “The Compliance Officer will be along shortly.”

“Put down your weapons. You will be sent for reconditioning,” the first trooper said. 

In a stealthy movement that was a credit to his training program, Hux shot the three troopers in the chest and they all dropped to the ground.

“What was that?” Track said, incredulous. 

“Compliance Officer. We don’t want to be here when he arrives.”

“Why?”

“Yeah,” Hal added. “Officers aren’t as tough as those of us that do real work. What do we have to be afraid of?”

What, indeed. The very mention of Compliance Officers made Hux’s blood run cold. They were a special cadre of officers. First trained first as stormtroopers, the most ruthless among them were selected for a special training program designed and headed by Hux himself to keep all other First Order soldiers, trooper and officer, in line. Their methods were violent, and sadistic. They were extremely good at what they did, and until yesterday Hux would have called them a credit to his legacy. But now? Faced with the prospect of experiencing their methods for himself, Hux cursed himself for his methods. 

But he said none of this to Hal or Track. He never had the opportunity. The door to the security tower slid open and in walked a Compliance Officer flanked by two stormtroopers. One of the troopers fired immediately on Hal, who let out a little _oof_ of surprise, then fell sideways onto a workstation, dead before he hit the ground. 

“Hal!” Track roared, charging at the stormtrooper and trying to wrestle the blaster from his hand. Fuelled by a sudden surge of empathy, not to mention self-preservation, Hux followed suit, attempting to wrestle the blaster out of the other troopers hand. For his efforts, Hux received a sharp blow to the chest and fell backwards, his helmet toppled off his head and skidded across the floor. He froze, horrified that Track had seen who he really was. But Track was otherwise occupied, having been wrestled to his knees by the officer.

“You will tell us where the rest of this…Shadow Legion are,” the Compliance Officer said, standing over Track and glaring down at him. 

Track pulled his mouth into a firm line and said nothing. The officer nodded, and his troopers kicked Track in the stomach hard enough that he doubled over, despite still wearing his armour. He coughed and struggled to catch his breath, but still said nothing. The Compliance Officer turned to face Hux, who had propped himself up on his elbows.

“Mmm. Perhaps your friend will-” 

He stopped short. After the briefest of pauses, he snapped to attention.

“General Hux, sir. I didn’t realize you had this in hand.”

That got Track’s attention.

“I knew there was something the matter with you,” he said through gritted teeth. 

Hux raised his blaster, training it on Track. Then, for the second time in as many days, he abruptly shifted it and fired elsewhere. The Compliance Officer and stormtrooper joined the growing pile of bodies on the floor. No longer being held down, Track shot to his feet and stood over Hux, who didn’t dare move. 

“Why did you do that?”

“He would have killed us both, after first torturing us into revealing everything about Shadow Legion.”

“How do you know?”

“Because…I trained him myself. He would have gotten what he wanted.”

“Why do you care what happens to Shadow Legion?”

“We’re wasting time, we-”

“WHY. DO. YOU. CARE?” Track roared, pressing the blaster directly against Hux’s temple.

Hux cast about for the right words.

“The galaxy is in chaos. The First Order took great pains to restore order, and I am proud of the role I played in that. But as of late…I find my goals and those of the Supreme Leader no longer align. The First Order sows chaos more than it implements it. Things are as bad as they’ve ever been. Perhaps it’s time for a new approach. The Resistance’s approach.”

“What happens if I turn you in to the First Order? It might buy me some time to do recon.”

“If you turn me in, they’ll likely execute me on the spot.”

“And if I allow you to keep fighting with Shadow Legion?”

“I can help you take the ship. Then once we’re at the Resistance Base, I imagine they’ll execute me. They’ll have a trial of course, but I don’t see anyone ruling in my favour.”

That was the first time Hux had voiced that particular thought out loud. Whatever he did from this point on, he did so knowing there was no chance of escape. No matter who won the battle, his days were numbered.

Track seemed to recognize this as well.

“I still don’t trust you. But I know Hal did, and that he believed in forgiveness above all else. I also know I can’t do my part in this alone. I’ll take any assistance I can get, General Hux.”

He extended a hand to help Hux to his feet.

“If we’re to be fighting together,” Hux said. “You may call me Armitage.”

No one had called him by his given name since he was a child, when there were still others around him of similar rank and age. He’d been in command so long that any leniency of that kind would have been deeply inappropriate. But Track had been a loyal comrade in arms, as had Hal. Armitage wasn’t used to this level of loyalty from those he fought alongside, and that kind of loyalty deserved a show of trust. 

The two men put their helmets back on, and after a last look back at Hal, slipped out of the security room. 

_Fighting with the Resistance,_ Armitage thought. _Befriending stormtroopers. I am well and truly in over my head._

  
  


***

“BEN!” Rey screamed. But he didn’t move. He wasn’t dead, he couldn’t be dead. Rey reached within herself, and felt the string of their connection. It was frayed, but still hanging on. He was still alive then. Good. 

Unfortunately, so was Palpatine. And now she would have to face him alone. 

“It seems I was wrong. Perhaps there is some weakness in you after all.”

Rey felt the anger swell in her and reach a boiling point. Never mind her lightsaber. At that moment, she felt she could tear Palpatine to pieces with her bare hands.

“Love and compassion is not _weakness_ ,” Rey spat, igniting Leia’s lightsaber.

“Nevertheless, they will be your undoing.”

To her surprise, Palpatine stepped away then. He clapped, setting off a blinding flash that made Rey close her eyes. When she opened them, she found herself standing onboard the bridge of a Star Destroyer. All around her stormtroopers rushed by, heading to their stations. Not a single one acknowledged her presence. 

“Where am I?” she asked no one in particular. For Palpatine was nowhere to be seen.

“Status report!” barked the senior commanding officer. 

“Sir,” replied one of the junior officers, “we’ve just eliminated the last of their so-called “Resistance Fleet”. Dameron fought to the last, but died like the rest of the scum.”

“Poe?” Rey said, weakly. No, no. It couldn’t be true. They had it wrong. He must have escaped somehow, but deep down she knew what the officer said was true. 

“Excellent. You may now set a course for Ajan Kloss. Let us wipe out the last of this pitiful Resistance once and for all.”

Rey felt something inside of her die. If they knew the base was on Ajan Kloss, and the fleet was already gone, then there was no one to warn everyone on the base that the First Order was coming. That was it, they had lost. 

The senior officer strode to the centre of the room, which was taken up by a dozen rebels in a row, each with a stormtrooper standing behind them. In the centre, she saw-

“FINN! Finn, I’m coming!” 

She tried to move, but found she was frozen in place.

“Now, for a final bit of housekeeping. Fire when ready,” the senior officer said.

“Fire when- FINN! NO! NO! FINN!”

But it was for nothing. She heard the sounds of a dozen blasters firing, saw the bodies of the rebels all drop to the ground. Finn’s eyes remained open, unseeing. 

Rey thought she might be sick. She let out a heart-wrenching scream and threw her hands over her eyes, willing herself to forget what she had just seen.

“Your anger,” Palpatine’s voice said in her head. “It gives you strength. _True_ strength. Use it. Embrace the Dark side and you can stop all of these things from happening.”

_Stop them from happening? This is a vision, it isn’t real!_

The realization was all Rey needed to pull herself away from the sight of Finn’s lifeless eyes. When her vision cleared, she stood in the temple once more.

“You know what you must do,” Palpatine said. “Assume that foolish boy’s power, rule the galaxy with me, and you can save all your little friends.”

“I can save…” Rey said quietly, still in the haze of the horrific vision she’d had. 

“Such is the power of the Dark side. None of this Jedi nonsense, choosing between what is right and what you want for yourself. Little wonder their precious order was so easily extinguished.”

Perhaps Palpatine was right. Perhaps she ought to join him, whatever it took.

She glanced back at where Ben lay, still unmoving. He had told her that she could still fight off the darkness, no matter what. Even if she killed him. Even if she joined with Palpatine. But what if it wasn’t enough? This was a Sith Lord who had returned from beyond the grave to haunt the galaxy once again. He had a grasp on the Darkness that she could never understand, and would never want to. If she were to apprentice herself to him, she doubted she would be permitted to save the Resistance. Perhaps her mind would be so twisted by him that she would no longer want to. 

No. She would find another way. There _had_ to be another way.

“No,” Rey said. “You want me to hate, and to give into my anger, but I won’t. I’ve managed to stay fighting for the light in the face of offers far more tempting than yours.”

“More tempting than rescuing all your friends?” Palpatine sounded surprised.

“I’m not naïve” Rey snapped. “I recognize a lie when I hear it.” 

She knew she was antagonizing him deliberately now, but she cared little. In the space of only a few moments he had threatened to take everyone she loved away from her. Leia. Finn. Ben. Her patience had worn thin and she was ready for this to be over, one way or another.

Palpatine scoffed.

“When reason fails, and it often does with the soft-hearted, I find it best to try a different tactic. It worked with Anakin Skywalker, it nearly worked with his son. Perhaps it will work with you too.”

Rey watched in horror as Palpatine’s hands began to crackle with electricity.

“You see, child, I find pain to be a highly effective motivational tool.”

Concentrated lightning shot out of his hands and Rey barely had time to shut her eyes before her entire body burned with the worst pain she’d ever felt in her life. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm particularly proud of this chapter and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it!


	15. Determination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey drew on the Force, pushing past her inherent Light and tapping into the pool of Darkness that swirled inside. It came easily, fuelled by the anger that coursed through her. It was also something about this temple. As though the walls shut out any glimmer of Light, Rey found that the Dark side came easier here. She felt a slight crackle at her fingertips. Lightning.

Becoming a pilot in the late days of the New Republic meant Poe had never really had access to enough resources. There were never enough parts to go around, never enough equipment, sometimes a shortage of pilots before a crucial mission. 

The situation in which he currently found himself made all those missions look like ideal scenarios. A couple dozen ships, if that, standing against a fleet of Star Destroyers that grew larger as more and more began to rise in the air. 

Though the Destroyers themselves were slow to rise, the First Order did not find itself without options. Wave after wave of TIE fighters flew towards them out of the hangar bays. They were so outnumbered, Poe could barely believe any of them were still alive. He’d done the best he could, given the circumstances. He would die now, fighting to the last for a cause he believed in, and not let himself be weighed down by regrets.

_ Finn _ , he thought suddenly. Poe would die never knowing if Finn felt the same way he did, or if he’d even gotten his message. Either way, if his final thoughts were to be of the man he loved, perhaps he was fortunate in some small way, to have had those feelings at all.

A flash and a pop off the starboard side caught Poe’s attention. He turned just in time to see a TIE fighter whizzing away from the scene of an explosion. Another pilot down.

“I’m hit!”, someone else screamed before their feed cut out abruptly.

This was truly the  _ Raddus  _ all over again. Only this time, it was a sanctioned mission, and that just made it so much worse. He was expected to be able to win the day, and had the support of the entire Resistance behind him, but he still failed. He was a disappointment to anyone who had ever shown faith in him, and it seemed cruel for his final moments to illustrate that to him so clearly. Then again, perhaps it was what he deserved. 

“Poe, what do we do?”, came one panicked voice over the comms.

“I’m surrounded, I can’t shake them,” said a voice on the verge of tears, that managed to break through the frantic chatter that now flooded the comms. 

Poe could understand the sentiment. It was utterly hopeless. It was time to call it.

“My friends,” he said, swallowing tears of his own. All other voices went silent. “I’m sorry. I thought we had a shot. There are too many of them.”

A new voice appeared over the comms.

“But there are more of us Poe,” said Rose, so excitedly he could practically hear her smiling. He could faintly hear Lando Calrissian laughing with mirth in the background.

“What?” he said, not sure if he could believe what he was hearing.

“Poe, are you seeing this?” said Jess.

Poe brought his X-Wing swinging around a particularly large debris cluster in time to see hundreds of ships dropping out of hyperspace.

“Look at this! How??” Poe exclaimed, laughing in spite of himself. 

“It was all Rose!” Lando said, with the air of a proud uncle. 

“No, it wasn’t just me,” Rose said.

“Don’t be so modest!” said a voice Poe knew he recognized. “Your feisty friend lit a fire under all of us…General Dameron.”

Something about the smug teasing tone clicked in Poe’s head.

“Zorii?” he shouted.

“You think I’d miss action this big?” she laughed. “I brought Babu with me; he misses that golden droid of yours.”

“Hey-hey!” Babu Frik chimed in.

Poe could make out a few ships he recognized in the wave of vehicles filling the skies over Coruscant. _The Corvus,_ _The Ghost_ , some old X-Wings that could only belong to those who had fought in the Rebellion 35 years ago. Leading the charge was none other than the _Millennium Falcon_ , with both Lando and Rose in the cockpit by the sound of things over the intercom.

“What now, General?” asked Lando. Poe still couldn’t quite believe that the old heroes of the Galactic Civil War looked to him as a leader. But he could dwell on that later, there was no time to waste. 

“Fan out, hit any TIE or Destroyer you can. Look for any weakness or exhaust port. Every ship destroyed is a world saved!”

As the massive fleet spread out to do as he commanded, Poe charged into the fray with a renewed sense of purpose. 

***

This particular turn of events was certainly…unexpected.

The First Order had the pathetic Resistance fleet exactly where they wanted them: scrambling, desperate, and on the verge of extinction. Which was why Supreme Leader Windrunner couldn’t quite believe what he was looking at.

Ship after ship was dropping out of hyperspace before his very eyes, as he stood on the bridge unable to look away. The assembled collection of vessels had none of the organized precision or consistency of the First Order, much less the Empire. Now the Empire was a startling example of military perfection, one he hoped to emulate as Supreme Leader just as soon as they could get rid of the minor threat that plagued them.

Perhaps the threat was no longer so minor. 

Though on arrival the ships had formed something of a wall, all returning to realspace in the same general vicinity, it only took a few moments for the group to break apart, fanning out like particles after an explosion. 

“What is this?” he barked, stalking up to the window. “Why did no intelligence reports make mention of a Resistance navy?”

“It’s no navy sir,” said one of the officers. “It’s just…people.”

Windrunner seethed. He’d always known the Resistance were fools. They had to be, to follow a traitor like Leia Organa into battle. She’d had no qualms about selling out Alderaan to further her own interests and those of her precious Rebellion. As a result, Nash Windrunner had lost anything and everything he had ever cared about. But to see that hundreds of ships from across the galaxy had willingly joined her miserable crusade? Perhaps there were more fools out there than he’d realized.

The Empire had been a good home to him, and though it had been decades since he’d thought of Alderaan as home, his rage at its destruction had never subsided.. He had spent the last 40 years toiling, fighting, incurring battle scar after battle scar, all with the aim of finally being able to give Leia Organa a taste of the grief she had given him. Until a couple of moments ago, all had gone exactly as he’d planned it. She’d been foolish enough to send out her entire fleet, so she clearly didn’t care if they all perished. Windrunner would have killed them gladly, of course, but then he’d have to set his sights on something larger. He would make it his mission to find one place in the galaxy she held dear. She would be there to watch it burn. 

Such was Nash Windrunner’s plan, until the hundreds of ships pulled into view. With the kind of intuition that came as the result of years in service to the Empire and the First Order, he knew he might not have much time left. He would have to do all he could to ensure the survival of the First Order, to give them a fighting chance.

A wave of ragtag vessels headed towards the Star Destroyer, then split off. Windrunner knew they were looking for weaknesses and entry points, and he had no doubt they would find them.

“Lieutenant,” he said to the closest officer. “Switch the guidance signal from this Destroyer to one still on the ground. They’ll be able to patch it back through once we deal with all this.”

“Which ship, sir?”

“Send it to the  _ Devastation _ ,” Windrunner said, consulting his datapad and choosing the first one his eyes settled on. Just then, he felt a shudder below his feet. The entire ship lurched and emergency sirens began to blare. There was a mad scramble around the bridge as workstations lit up, various divisions and detachments requesting instructions, inquiring if they should evacuate. The Resistance had targeted an exhaust port that led right to the ship’s core systems, and their aim had been true. 

“Remain at your posts!” Windrunner shouted for all he was worth. “There will be no evacuation. We are officers of the Empire, and we remain loyal to the last.”

But despite his final words, as the ship began to rock and crumble all around them, he closed his eyes, and in his final moments Nash Windrunner thought only of Alderaan.

***

Rey hardly had time to draw a couple of shaky breaths before another wave of lightning struck her and she convulsed all over again, writhing in agony on the temple floor. 

“You know how to make this all stop,” Palpatine drawled. “All you have to do is make your choice.”

_ This was no choice at all _ , Rey thought bitterly, as she fought her way to standing. The only choice truly before her was whether or not she wanted to keep being electrocuted. She’d had enough.

Years of her life wasted being pushed and pulled in a thousand different directions to be everything to everyone. Unkar Plutt had wanted a specific kind of scavenger, and whether or not she ate on any given day depended entirely on whether she could be that for him. The Resistance had wanted a poster child, a pilot, a Jedi; the galaxy wanted a hero; and now Palpatine wanted an apprentice to carry on the Sith line. 

Enough.

The only ones who’d ever not wanted anything from her were Finn, who only needed a friend, and Ben, who even as Kylo had only wanted…her. And who knew if either of them would even make it out of this war alive. Ben certainly wouldn’t. He was dying, she knew. Slowly, but dying all the same. Palpatine had taken everything from her, and if she was going to die today, she would make damn sure that he would pay for his actions. 

Rey drew on the Force, pushing past her inherent Light and tapping into the pool of Darkness that swirled inside. It came easily, fuelled by the anger that coursed through her. It was also something about this temple. As though the walls shut out any glimmer of Light, Rey found that the Dark side came easier here. She felt a slight crackle at her fingertips. Lightning.

She raised her arms, feeling through the Force for Palpatine’s Sentinels that still stood behind him. She lifted them into the air and fired bolts of lightning at each of them, feeling a wave of satisfaction as each one popped and burst into a shower of sparks and flame overhead. Palpatine had hardly had time to react before she directed the same attention to him. She held him in place, using the Force, but to her surprise, he only laughed.

“You may have destroyed the other Sentinels so that my soul will have no recourse when I die. But if you strike me down in anger…your heart will be irrevocably turned to the Dark side.”

Rey wavered, her anger ebbing only enough to take in the weight of his words, but it was enough for him to break her hold. He stalked towards her. 

“It won’t matter that you will have killed me to spare your friends. I daresay you will kill them yourself soon enough. Once the power of the Dark side takes hold, it is...intoxicating.”

With a wave of his hand, a bright light emanated in the centre of the room, forcing Rey to squint. When she could open them again, she saw what looked like a window, through which she could see the same forest clearing from her vision aboard the Death Star. She saw herself, clad in the black garb of a Sith, brandishing a double-bladed saber, murdering each and every one of her friends. Rose, Poe, Leia, Finn. Even Ben was there, being held in place by a stormtrooper clad in red, and he fell to her lightsaber the same as the others.

“You’re wrong. No matter what happens here, my friends will not die because of me.”

“Oh how wrong you are.”

Palpatine waved his hand again, and the view through the glowing window changed once more, this time showing her the skies above Coruscant. 

“If your foolish loyalty to your so-called friends is the only thing preventing you from taking your rightful place as a Sith, then perhaps we ought to correct this particular problem.”

Rey focused on the changed vision. She could see the ships of the Resistance fleet, yes, but now they were accompanied by hundreds of other ships she hadn’t seen before. They actually stood a chance!

Lightning crackled in Palpatine’s hand before shooting towards the window. It passed through as though he stood right next to the ships and struck one dead centre. It threw all surrounding ships out of formation, as they scrambled to find the source of the mysterious new threat. 

Rey reached for Leia’s lightsaber, only to realize she no longer had it clipped to her side. She had no idea where it had gone. 

“Hmm. Perhaps this is insufficient incentive. Very well,” said Palpatine, mistaking her panic for hesitation.

He kept up the sporadic volley of lightning towards the Resistance ships. With his other hand, he sent similar bolts flying across the room to strike Ben, where he still lay unmoving. 

“The boy still lives. Though for how much longer, I cannot say.”

Each bolt that hit Ben felt like a stab in her own body. Fighting for breath, and feeling weak, she risked a glance at the window. She could just make out the Millennium Falcon, swirling among the other ships that were all in disarray. She looked back and forth, keenly aware that Palpatine was making her bear witness to the deaths over anyone she had ever cared about, and here she stood unarmed, her weapons lost.

_ Well. Not all of them _ .

Reaching out once more, she called her own lightsaber to her hands, the one she couldn’t activate on Jakku. It would serve her this time, she had no doubt. 

“You bear witness to such torture, and still you refuse to join me?” Palpatine sneered, ceasing the waves of lightning. “Then you are determined to turn your back on your own power, to die a mere scavenger girl instead of the Sith Empress you we’re born to be.”

“I am no mere scavenger girl,” Rey said. 

She activated the emitter and felt both blades ignite in her hands, both glowing in a warm, bright yellow. 

“I am a Jedi.”

He aimed another lightning bolt at Ben. She swung the saber, one of the blades catching the bolt and bouncing it back towards him. It struck him in the chest and he staggered. 

He looked angry now. He directed the full force of his powers on her. Thankful for all the time she’d spent learning to use a staff, Rey moved quickly, using both blades to direct the lightning away from herself. As he prepared to attack again, Rey took advantage of the brief pause. She lunged forward and stabbed him through the chest. 

Palpatine let out a wheezing sound and Rey deactivated her saber. The old man doubled over, clutching at his chest.

“I was wrong. Ben Solo was the one with the potential. You are far too weak to learn the ways of the Sith,” Palpatine said. “Perhaps his rage will be enough to fuel him into survival.”

She looked at the Sith Lord and saw him grin one final time. A sense of panic washed over her. She fumbled trying to switch her saber on again, but was too late. Palpatine lay one wrinkled, scarred hand over Rey’s heart.

“Your heart was your undoing,” he sneered. “Perhaps your death will be his.The final push he needs to carry on the legacy of his grandfather.”

As he died, he let out one final burst of lightning directly into Rey’s chest. 

She felt her heart beat impossibly fast, then stop altogether. She felt herself slipping and falling backwards. But by the time she hit the ground, her eyes open but unseeing, Rey of Jakku - Resistance fighter, pilot, Jedi - felt nothing at all.

***

It took Finn a moment to recover from the surprising turn of events. Jannah and the others had already rushed forward to help the rest of their squad to their feet. 

“Hey,” someone said, prodding Finn on the arm. “You ok?”

Finn snapped out of it. 

“Yeah, yeah.”

He and Ceebee joined with the rest of the group.

“What  _ happened _ ?” Aldi asked, excitedly.

“I…”

“That was the Force, wasn’t it?” Jannah said. 

“It…yeah, I think…I…I have no idea how that happened.” Finn said, shaking his head. If he made it out alive and ever saw Rey again, he would make a point of asking her what was happening to him. 

“I’m just glad it did, I wasn’t ready to die,” Aldi said, the rush of adrenaline bringing a smile to his face. 

“So I guess now we rendezvous with everyone else?” Ceebee asked.

As if in response to her question, Finn’s comm chirped.

“Finn?” a woman’s voice said.

“Rose?!” Finn exclaimed. “Is that you?”

“Oh, thank the Force! There was a sudden electrical storm; I was so afraid we’d lost comms. But Finn, I can’t believe it. So many people are here. From all over the galaxy. They came to help.”

Finn couldn’t believe it. He looked around at the others, and it seemed they all felt the same.

“That’s…that’s amazing. We’ve just taken about a dozen ships so you don’t have to worry about them anymore.”

“We have a new problem now. I’m tracking the nav signal now. It was on one of the Destroyers up here, but they’ve transferred it down planetside. Think you can disable that too?”

“What good will that do?” one of the crew members whispered.

“If we disable the signal, it’ll take them forever to get it back up again,” Finn replied. “Which will hopefully be enough time for whatever is going on up there to work!”

“The ship you’re looking for is called the  _ Devastation _ ,” Rose added. “I have to go! May the Force be with you, Finn.”

She had no idea.

After a brief pause at one of the terminals to locate the  _ Devastation _ within the compound, they ran towards the closest exit, trying to get over to the other ship as fast as possible. They didn’t dare radio the other teams, in case planet-wide communications were being monitored. Their channels weren’t as secure as Rose’s had been. 

Unfortunately, word seemed to have gotten out that there was a ship on the ground worth protecting. A legion of stormtroopers clad in bright red armour surrounded the  _ Devastation _ .

“Who are they?” Aldi asked.

“I heard some call them Sith Troopers,” Jannah said. “They served Snoke, and Palpatine in a way I suppose.”

“Shouldn’t we try to bring them to our side too?”

“There’s no point. Most become stormtroopers because they have to be. But Sith Troopers….you join their ranks because you  _ want _ to. Because you like hurting people.”

“We’ll never take it like this. We won’t make it on board,” Finn said.

“We need to stop playing it so safe then!” Ceebee said, a look of fresh determination in her eyes. She switched on her comms.

“Shadow Legion, this is CB-7376. We need help in Hangar 21. Immediately.”

She turned her comm back off and ducked behind some crates with the others.

“What now?” Finn whispered.

“We wait and see.”

Finn slumped back against the crates for what felt like hours but was probably only a few minutes.

“We don’t have time for this, we have to- hang on.”

He stopped and cocked his head, listening to a sound off in the far distance.

“What is it?” Jannah asked.

“You don’t hear that?”

She shook her head, as did the others.

“Someone’s coming. Help. Help is on the way.”

The collective looks of confusion quickly turned to looks of surprise, as the quiet hum of dozens of troop transports grew louder and louder. The vehicles stopped all around the  _ Devastation,  _ and the troopers disembarked, falling into line with the precision that comes with a lifetime of training. One Stormtrooper wearing a commander's pauldron removed her helmet, faced Finn and saluted.

“General. Your orders, sir?”

She replaced her helmet, then keyed a command on the cuff around her wrist. Finn recognized it as a holorecording device, used to convey orders from one individual to large numbers of troopers when shouting wouldn’t do the trick. How many times had he been going about his business when Phasma’s face had materialized before his eyes inside his helmet, barking some order or another.

“We need to get on board that Destroyer and disable the tracking signal. Clear a path for us and hold them off. I don’t know if they’re sending reinforcements, but we need to be alert. Stay in touch.”

Finn felt he needed to end on a less flat note. What would Leia do?

“For the galaxy,” he said nodding at the commander, and by extension everyone else. “May the Force be with you.”

She switched off the feed.

“Ready?”

“Ready.” 

They charged into the fray. 

Considering how little time they’d had to throw the plan together - and how little they actually knew each other - Finn, Jannah and the rest of their team managed to get on board the  _ Devastation _ relatively quickly. They’d had to fire off a few shots when it looked like the red-clad troopers might break through, but before long, they were standing in one of the Destroyers main thoroughfares, breathing heavily.

“Bridge?” Ceebee asked.

“Yeah,” Finn said, leading the way.

They moved through the efficient, industrial hallways, meeting absolutely no resistance as they went. As they approached the bridge, Finn suddenly jumped out from around the corner, pointing his blaster down the hallway. The instinct proved to be the right one, as two stormtroopers - one with a helmet, one without - threw up their hands.

“We’re Shadow Legion!” said the one with no helmet. The man had a prominent scar running down his cheek, and such a look of grief in his eyes that Finn pitied him instantly. 

Finn and the company lowered their blasters. 

“I’m GK-4101, but call me Track,” the man continued. “This is Archer.”

Archer, the helmeted trooper, had frozen in place. Though his blaster wasn’t pointed at any of them, he still gripped it like his life depended on it. He stood extremely straight, and didn’t even break his stance when Track mentioned his name. There was also something about him that felt eerily familiar to Finn. He  _ knew _ him somehow. Perhaps they used to fight in the same unit? Only there hadn’t been any “Archer” that he could recall.

“-almost taken the ship, when the others went to help fight off the troops outside,” Track was saying. “We got held up in one of the security offices, we were just on our way to help.”

“Forget that,” Finn said. “Can you help us shut down the nav signal that’s guiding the other ships out? They redirected it here.”

“Lead the way,” said Track, who seemed to do the speaking for Archer as well.

The company, now with their two added members, took the last few steps to the bridge. The door slid open and they were greeted by the sight of a handful of officers and a couple dozen stormtroopers, all with their blasters raised. 

They opened fire.

Finn and Jannah cleared a path for Aldi to access one of the main terminals, all while taking out as many troopers as possible. Finn had initially thought to set his blaster to stun, but at this crucial point, he knew these troopers knew the choice that was before them, and chose to fight for the First Order anyway. He couldn’t let a lapse in his judgement be the whole reason this all fell apart. 

As Aldi worked as quickly as possible to disable the signal, Finn and Jannah defended him, keeping an eye on the fray before them. Finn was relieved to see that Track and Archer had told the truth about fighting with Shadow Legion. What surprised him more than anything was their no nonsense approach. Track fought with a ferocity that suggested the grief in his eyes was fresh. He’d probably lost someone close to him that very day and wanted to make sure the First Order paid the price. Archer, on the other hand, was a precise marksman. He had made such short work of the officers on the bridge that Finn hoped he never ended up on the other side of a conflict with him.

“Got it!” Aldi shouted. “Signal’s down!” 

“Rose!” Finn called into his comlink. “Signal’s out, go for it!”

Rose whooped on the other end of the line, then cut out the connection. An extremely loud crash from somewhere outside caught their attention. With all the troopers down, the company rushed to the front of the bridge and peered out the window. In the distance, a massive fire blazed. A Destroyer had been in the process of taking off when the signal went out. Without the guidance to manoeuvre out, the ship had come crashing down.

_ The tide is turning, _ Finn thought.  _ We might actually win this thing. _

But then, Finn felt the strangest sensation, as though a bucket of ice water was poured over him. He staggered and nearly fell until Jannah caught him.

“Finn? Are you alright? Were you hit?” she asked.

“Rey,” he said, his voice shaking. “Something happened to Rey.”

  
  


***

There were three moments in Ben Solo’s life where he felt as though a part of him were being torn in two. 

The first was the day he’d seen his father again after years apart. His mind, twisted by darkness and so frightened at the temptation of the light that his hands forced his lightsaber through Han Solo’s chest all while his heart screamed at him to stop. 

The second moment was because of Rey. The moment she’d ceased to look at him as though he were a monster, and the moment she saw the good man inside trying to claw his way out of a fathomless pit. When she’d reached for his hand over a small fire on Ach-To, her actions driven purely by faith. Faith that the Force would connect them, and faith that he would be waiting to take her hand when it crossed that invisible divide. When she’d finally come to him on board Snoke’s ship, the bond that joined their souls had pulled him so hard in her direction, he had never before been so tempted to drop everything and follow her, with only his own fear and anger stopping him from doing so. 

This moment was the third time, and this was different. That same bond, the thread that joined them, which had been stronger than ever before as they fought side by side at last, had snapped. In its place was an incomprehensible nothingness. He’d been living in tandem with Rey for so long, years before even knowing her name, that he’d forgotten what it felt to be so completely without her. 

And the  _ pain _ . No amount of torture Palpatine had ever inflicted on him was equivalent to what he felt now, beyond the physical injuries he had sustained. He fought to sit up even though all he wanted was to curl up on the floor for the rest of his miserable existence. With every limb on his body shaking in protest, he finally managed to force himself onto his knees, placing his palms on the floor on either side of him for support. 

The moment the thread of their bond had broken, his chest felt crushed, his heart shattered, the air was knocked out of his lungs and his soul had finally ripped in two, half of it disappearing entirely. He led her here. He made the Dark side aware of her. He left her to fight Palpatine alone, too weak to be of any use when she needed him the most. Kneeling alone and terrified on the floor of the Sith temple, Ben Solo let out a roar of pure grief and rage.

Rey was dead. And it was all his fault.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My beta reader cussed me out for this chapter, which was the highlight of my day
> 
> Thank you for reading, and for sticking with me this long!


	16. Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He placed his hand over her abdomen, as she had for him, and closed his eyes. He called on his own life force to flow out from him and into Rey. He would give her everything if that’s what it took. The galaxy didn’t need him. But it wouldn’t survive without her. And she deserved a chance to live with the peace she’d fought so hard to win.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added one chapter to the overall count (I decided I wanted to add an epilogue)
> 
> Thank you for sticking with me this long!

Whenever grief had left a hole in Ben Solo’s heart, darkness was usually waiting to take its place. This had been the case after he’d killed his father and then nearly killed his mother. For every heinous act committed in the name of Supreme Leader Snoke that weighed on his soul, darkness had always been there to reassure him that this was all part of some grander plan. 

As he knelt on the floor, unable to bring himself to move, he waited for the darkness to take hold. Surely any moment now, some seed of anger would take root, and tell him to take action, to avenge Rey’s death, and to cut down any who dared stand in his way. 

He waited. But he felt _nothing_. 

Perhaps the darkness truly no longer had a hold on him. But it had cost him everything.

Gingerly, utterly defeated, he rose to his feet and limped forward slowly. He had to see her. To hold her one final time before death came for him too. There was no way he was going to get out of here alive without help. And no one would come for him. The fall had injured one of his legs, and he put very little weight on it as he hobbled forward. He couldn’t fully straighten up, either. He’d tried and cried out in pain when his shattered ribs protested. Step by step, he headed towards the figure lying at the foot of the dais, a small dab of pale grey among the dark sombre colours of the temple. 

Arriving at the platform, he tried to lower himself down gently. His leg gave out and he instead slipped and fell into a seated position. He grunted and pressed his face into his hands, taking deep breaths until the pain had ebbed. He took his hands away and looked down at Rey. Whatever he had expected to see, this was far worse.

All the blood had gone from her dirt-streaked face. A look of surprise was frozen on her face and her eyes were open, unblinking. The light in them had faded, the warm brown colour no longer giving off the sparkle he’d come to love. Her body lay splayed in a strange position. He couldn’t bear to leave her like this. He shifted forward and wrapped one arm under her torso, supporting her head with the other. He looked at her for a moment, his grief written plain all over his face, then held her still-warm body close. 

Before he’d moved her, her now-extinguished lightsaber had lain only a few inches from her fingertips. She had fought to the last. Even as she was dying, she’d wanted to make sure her friends were safe and protected. She had fought to save _his_ life, even though she must have sensed there was no point and he would be dead soon anyway. In those moments she’d become a far greater Jedi than he could ever hope to be, selflessly fighting for those who could not fight for themselves. 

As he held her, his fingertips grazed a raised patch of skin on her right arm. He moved her away to examine the spot. A long scar crossed her bicep. A souvenir from the fight in Snoke’s throne room, the first time they’d truly been a united front, and fought like the dyad they were. He should have taken her hand that day and gone wherever she’d asked. Oh, how he’d been tempted to. If he had gone, none of this would have happened. They might have had time together, plotted the downfall of the First Order together, somewhere warm, where the sunlight could bring out the gold in her hair. Instead, though they were finally together and finally alone, Rey was dead, and Ben would follow shortly. This was a sick joke.

He gazed down at her face, feeling panic well in his chest. He knew that if by some miracle someone did come get him out of here, there was no way he would be able to live without her. The pain in his soul was simply too much. Was this how she’d felt back on Kef Bir? Had she only saved him to spare herself from spiritual agony? Had she felt it begin as he lay dying, when she decided to reach inside herself and heal him?

_Wait._

Perhaps it wasn’t too late. Perhaps he could try to save her now, the way she’d done for him. He remembered reading about the ancient Jedi skill in one of Luke’s old books, but had never seen it put into practice. He cast his eyes about frantically looking for someone, _anyone_ , to guide him. His mother. His father. Even Luke would be a welcome sight. But no one came. Ben was wholly alone. It was all on him.

He placed his hand over her abdomen, as she had for him, and closed his eyes. He called on his own life force to flow out from him and into Rey. He would give her everything if that’s what it took. The galaxy didn’t need him. But it wouldn’t survive without her. And she deserved a chance to live with the peace she’d fought so hard to win. His energy was waning. He felt tired and diminished, and still he felt no change in her. He paused and took a calming breath, steeling himself to try again.

Suddenly, a warm hand lay over his own. His eyes flew open, and Rey stared up at him, colour returning to her cheeks, her eyes shining and blinking quickly in confusion. Ben shifted a little to help her sit up. He would wait with her until she had enough energy to stand, then he would do whatever she asked of him. After all he’d done, she owed him nothing. She’d saved him - perhaps against her better judgement - and now he’d saved her. All life debts were paid, and she could leave him here without anything weighing on her conscience. She probably would, and he could not say that he would blame her.

Rey looked into his eyes, considering him as though she’d never seen him properly before. Then the last cloud cleared away, and she broke into a wide smile.

“Ben?” she whispered.

He couldn’t help it, he smiled back tentatively. Rey took a deep breath and shifted carefully, hesitation apparent in her every gesture. Then suddenly resolved, she took his face in her hands and brought her lips to his. Shocked to his very core, Ben recovered quickly and placed one hand behind her head and the other at her waist and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. It was furious, it was passionate, and Ben never wanted it to end.

***

Finn’s ears were ringing. The overwhelming sensation that something awful had happened to Rey had passed, but he wasn’t left with anything resembling a sense of relief. It was as though things had just…gone back to normal. 

He was distantly aware that someone was calling him, but it wasn’t until Jannah shook his shoulder that he returned to the here and now, instead of trying to sense Rey in his budding awareness of the Force.

“What? What did you say?”

“They’re hailing us,” Jannah said, thrusting her comm into his hand.

“Who?” Finn said, still only half aware of his surroundings.

“Finn?” came an excited voice through the device.

“Rose? Rose, are you ok?”

“We did it Finn!”

She let out an unrestrained laugh of joy.

“We…”

“The fleet! We destroyed the fleet! Well, the part of the fleet that was up here anyway, and obviously there’s still a lot of work left to do, but they won’t be going anywhere for awhile they’re totally grounded and then Jannah said that she could-”

“Rose,” Finn cut in. 

“Right, sorry.” Rose said. 

Finn couldn’t see her, but he could tell she was blushing. Though Rose used to babble much more frequently in the early days of their friendship, when excited or nervous, she had become much better about it. 

But these were extenuating circumstances, and Finn couldn’t blame her in the slightest for sliding into old habits. 

“What’s this about Jannah?”

“The fleet is heading back to base, but Jannah said that you all had some sort of plan for keeping everything under control until we can regroup and strategize?”

“We…” Finn began, looking around the room. His eyes settled on Archer and Track and then it clicked. “Yeah, we do. We’ll set that up and meet you back at base.”

“See you there!”

“Rose, wait!” Finn said suddenly. “Did…uh…did everyone make it?”

There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment.

“Well…no. We lost quite a few. A lot of good pilots.”

“Pilots like…like X-Wing pilots?”

“What are you really asking me, Finn?”

Finn sighed, feeling a little silly for how transparent his question had been.

“Poe. Did Poe make it?”

“I lost track, I’m not sure,” Rose said. Finn felt his heart plummet. His hope spiked again when Rose added, “Most of the X-Wings went back already though, so he might have...”

“We’ll see you at home,” Finn said, keying off and handing the comm back to Jannah.

“Now what?” Aldi asked Finn.

“General,” Track said, approaching. “Shadow Legion has beat back the Sith Troopers outside, but it likely won’t last. If you’re going to leave, I suggest you do so now.”

“If it’s not over then we can’t go,” Jannah said, looking at Finn.

If there was one thing Finn knew for sure, something that even Poe struggled with sometimes, it was to listen and defer to those with more experience in a certain terrain. In this case, he addressed Ceebee.

“You know Shadow Legion best. What would their next move be?”

“We never thought this would be over quickly. We’ll blend back in with our squadrons, continue to dismantle from the inside. Today has made a huge difference.”

Finn bit at his lower lip, considering their options. He didn’t like the idea of leaving them exactly as he’d found them. It wouldn’t be as easy as Ceebee thought it would be. Phasma had always been quick to punish those merely suspected of non-compliance. And Shadow Legion had not been careful to hide their tracks, there was evidence of their actions all over Coruscant. They might try to blend back in, but with no clear strategy to move things forward they would eventually be caught. Punished. Executed en masse. Finn couldn’t leave them without help or recourse.

“Here’s what we’ll do,” Finn said. “Ceebee, you come back to base with us, act as a liaison with Shadow Legion. The Resistance will help Shadow Legion move ahead with their plans. Resources, anything you need.”

“Really?”

“I promise. One former stormtrooper to another.”

Track cleared his throat.

“Excuse me, sir. Requesting permission for Archer and I to accompany you. You could use more inside help than you have.”

Archer stepped forward and Finn thought he might finally be moved to speak. Or at least to remove his helmet. But after a quick look from Track, he stepped back once again, staying silent. 

“Thank you both. We appreciate it.”

“Let’s find a transport and get out of here.”

They managed to slip out of the Destroyer unseen, hidden by the chaos that always follows a large skirmish. Droids were so busy picking through bodies - mostly Sith Troopers, Finn was relieved to see - they didn’t bother to sound the alarm at the handful of living beings darting around the massive complex. 

They found a decently-sized transport left unattended, and boarded it before the owner decided to return for it. Aldi sat at the controls, Ceebee next to him. The others settled into their seats. Finn was surprised to find there was a small enclosure at the back of the transport, a closed off space with four seats and a small table. He supposed the owner of the transport used it as an office of sorts. Even though no one would question the General taking the office, and having a moment to himself, Finn decided he’d still rather sit with the group that had fought by his side. Once they were back at base, when the hard work began, he’d be spending enough time apart from the others. All he wanted was one more moment of normalcy. 

Naturally that didn’t last.

Once they had jumped to hyperspace, Track stood up, Archer right behind him. The two stopped in front of Finn.

“Excuse me, General,” Track said. “We wondered if we might have a word?”

“Sure,” Finn said.

“Uh. Privately, if possible, sir?” Track added, his eyes darting towards the little office.

Fighting the urge to groan, Finn stood up and led the way into the small enclosed space. 

“Sir,” Track began, once the door had closed.

“Hang on,” Finn asked, holding up a hand. It was time to address the thing that had been bothering him all day. “What’s his deal? Do you do all his talking?”

Track paused for a moment, then nodded at Archer. The masked stormtrooper raised his hands to his helmet, seemed to hesitate for a second, then disengaged it. 

Finn had been expecting a startling sight of some kind, given the buildup. But the bruised and bloody face of Armitage Hux staring at him from across the table caught him completely off guard.

“Whoa! What…What are you-? What is this?” Finn’s eyes darted between the two men, and his hand flew to his blaster. He had never felt so betrayed. 

“Was this part of your plan?” Finn snapped at Hux. “Tell us you’re a spy and do us a little favour so you can sneak on a ship back to the Resistance base later?”

Hux’s face immediately went into a disgusted sneer.

“‘Little favour?’ I saved your lives!”

“Not the time,” Track whispered.

Hux rolled his eyes, then sighed in resignation.

“I defected,” he said. “They caught me. After I let you go. Tortured me for information I didn’t have. I’ve long felt the First Order has lost direction. It’s not what it used to be.”

Finn wouldn’t take his eyes off Hux. He was still having a hard time believing what he was seeing. 

“I’d like to…” Hux paused, as if the next few words were going to be difficult. “I’d like to offer my services to the Resistance. My knowledge. Anything that could be of use.”

Finn considered the weight of his words. They would have a serious asset, someone high up in the First Order who could give them intel like no one else had. Someone who had been doing so for quite some time and never led them astray. He still wasn’t totally clear on the _why_ , but the fight was about to get a lot more complicated, and he wasn’t about to reject a gift that was so freely offered.

“We accept your help,” Finn began. “But, you realize most people back at base won’t trust you. Frankly I’d be surprised if anyone in here trusted you.” 

Hux nodded stiffly, but he didn’t look surprised. 

“As a show of good faith, I’m going to ask you to stay in here for the rest of the trip. So I have time to arrange…accommodation for you once we arrive.”

“You mean detention,” Hux said. 

Finn nodded, but didn’t speak. He looked at Hux expectantly.

“Very well,” Hux said, dropping into one of the vacant seats. 

Finn was not surprised to see Track sit down as well. 

“I’ll wait here too, with your permission sir,” Track said. 

Finn just nodded again, then left the little office. 

As he retook his seat, Jannah leaned over, curious.

“What was that all about?”

Finn shook his head.

“I have a feeling we’re in for a really interesting couple of days back at base.”

***

The last thing Rey remembered before she hit the floor was the surprise she felt at Palpatine’s final burst of energy. She ought to have seen it coming. What kind of fighter, Jedi, scavenger let her guard down like that in a perilous situation? But she’d been so worried about everyone else, she completely lost perspective. And now it seemed she’d lost her life as well. At least she hadn’t lost the fight. Her friends would have a chance at life in a more secure galaxy and she couldn’t ask for more than that. 

Then she slipped into a blissful nothingness.

Moments later, though really, it must have been longer than that, she felt a warmth envelop her. Something, or someone, was calling her back to the land of the living. A new life force flowed through her now. New, yet somehow as familiar as her own soul. As she became aware of her surroundings, she felt a weight on her abdomen. 

A hand. 

Ben’s. 

He was transferring his life force to her. She had to stop him before he let it kill him, and she could feel he was ready to do just that. With intense effort, she reached up and lay her own hand over his.

He froze and looked down at her as her eyes flew open. He helped her sit up, and she took in his face. He was in pain, and was not concealing it well, but his kind eyes were only full with concern for her. She studied every facet of the man who was holding her so carefully. In a temple that had been full of tricks and illusions, Rey needed to make sure this was the real Ben. Her Ben. Though her mind needed a moment to confirm it, her heart already knew it to be true. No other being in the galaxy had ever made her feel so complete. It was really him. Her Jedi. Her soulmate. 

“Ben?” she whispered, a genuine smile creeping across her face. She’d accepted his help without question in the heat of battle, but now that they were alone the significance of it all finally hit her. The darkness had left him, and he had followed her into the light. She’d hoped for this for so long, and it was happening at last. 

She struggled for a moment, unsure of what to say. Words failed her. Her relief that they were both alive, her delight at seeing him, the swelling in her heart that hinted at something more than mere attraction. What words were enough to express all that? She then reached the most natural conclusion she could. She leaned forward, placed one hand on either side of his face, and kissed him.

Momentarily concerned that her feelings wouldn’t be reciprocated, all her fears were immediately laid to rest when Ben pulled her closer, deepening their kiss and pressing her body to his with one hand, the fingers of the other threading through her hair. This was nothing like the kiss she had seen in her vision on the Death Star. That had been aggressive and possessive. Dangerous. Wrong. This was all tenderness and passion. It felt like coming home. It felt _right._ They stayed locked that way for several long moments before breaking apart to catch their breath. Ben brought his hand around from behind her head to rest near her neck. He stroked her cheek with his thumb, and stared into her eyes. Rey smiled hesitantly at him, feeling a little awkward for her impulsive decision, and broke the silence.

“Hi,” she said.

Ben broke into a wide smile and laughed quietly. She’d never seen him smile so genuinely before. She had never seen him laugh…ever. And stars, he was handsome when he did. He leaned forward slightly and pressed his forehead to hers.

“Hi,” he replied, still chuckling.

The smile suddenly slipped off his face, replaced by a much grimmer expression. He was gritting his teeth and looked as though he might be sick. 

“Ben?” Rey said again, leaning away for a better look at him. He suddenly gripped her hand tightly, his eyes screwed shut. The bliss of just a few moments ago had dissipated, and in its place was pain. Death. Ben’s breathing was shaky, and when he spoke, it sounded like he was forcing himself to. 

“Just…It’s ok, Rey, really.”

“What’s ok?” Rey asked, panicked. “Hang on, let me-”

She placed her hands on him, ready to heal him once again. If they were going to play this game back and forth, healing one another until neither of them were at death’s door, so be it. They were finally together, and she wouldn’t let anything get in the way of that. 

But Ben grabbed her wrists and held her hands away from him.

“You know you’re not strong enough for that to work.”

Rey was affronted.

“Not strong enough? I-”

“You were dead two minutes ago. Try that and the effort will kill you.”

Rey sat back. She knew it was true. But she couldn’t stay here and just watch him die. Though the strength of her life force might be on the mend, she was reasonably confident that her physical strength remained intact.

“Fine,” she said, shooting to her feet. “Then let’s get back to my ship. I know there’s a medpack on board.”

“ _Your_ ship?” Ben said, smiling weakly. “That’s _my_ TIE if you recall.”

She took his sense of humour as a good sign, and helped him stand as well. 

“You weren’t using it,” she shrugged.

She spotted her lightsaber near the platform and used the Force to call it to her. She looked around the lifeless temple and wavered.

“You want to pick up all the lightsabers, don’t you?”

She looked up at Ben, but he wasn’t looking at her. He was looking towards the corridor he’d entered from. 

“It’s the scavenger in me,” Rey explained. “I can’t bear the idea of leaving two perfectly good lightsabers here.”

“I want to find mine too…,” he said, still looking out at the corridor. “I’ll go look for it, meet you back here?”

Rey sighed.

“Fine but don’t…”

 _Don’t what?,_ she asked herself. _Don’t go too far? Don’t hurt yourself?_

_Don’t leave me. Please. I just got you back. Don’t leave me._

As if sensing her thoughts Ben planted a light kiss on top of Rey’s filthy forehead. 

“I won’t.”

He limped off into the shadowy corridor, and Rey turned away from the platform to scan the room. She clipped her own lightsaber to her belt then reached out into the Force. She’d expected it to flow so strongly here that sensing the sabers would be impossible. But no, it was only the Dark side that filled this horrible space. She scanned for any trace of something familiar, then suddenly there they were, two tiny pricks of light shining out at her through the shadows. She called to them, waiting only a few moments before both lightsabers landed in her palms. 

Perhaps she could call Ben’s to her as well, save him the trouble of looking. She reached out again, and while she could sense Ben moving in the next room, she couldn’t sense his lightsaber. The things he’d done with it, the angry, painful circumstances under which it had been made, the corrupted kyber crystal. The lightsaber was awash in the Dark side.

Ben must have known the lightsaber would be harder to sense here. But had he really wanted to, he probably could have. Finding it was something he needed to do on his own, then. She wouldn’t take that from him. Rey headed towards the moving platform that had brought her into the bowels of the Sith temple and placed the two additional sabers into the bag she’d left there. 

Seeing that Ben still wasn’t heading back, she unclipped her lightsaber and activated it. She couldn’t believe that the two crystals she’d found both gave off identical beams of yellow light, but perhaps this was less luck and more to do with the connection the crystals had with each other and with her. Now that she wasn’t faced with impending death, Rey gave her lightsaber an experimental swing. The feeling was incredible. It felt more natural than either of the other lightsabers ever had. It was an extension of herself. She tried another staff technique, careful to move as cautiously as possible. The events of the day had finally caught up to her and her muscles were starting to feel heavy. 

A shuffling sound caught her attention: Ben was slowly making his way towards her. She deactivated her saber and clipped it back onto her belt. She noticed that he had done the same with his own. With a great deal of strength - he was just so much bigger than her - she helped him hoist up onto the platform, then pulled herself up after. 

The effort had clearly worn on Ben. He looked unsteady on his feet as the platform slowly lifted them into the Jedi temple. Rey gently took one of his arms and draped it over her shoulder, trying to support his weight.

They slowly made their way through the abandoned temple and up to the landing pad where Rey had left the TIE. The traffic and chaos that perpetually sounded in Coruscant was gone, bathing the entire temple complex in an eerie silence. The conflict that raged overhead was gone too. Instead, the two Jedi were surrounded by a moment of peace and silence, a hint of sunrise on the horizon.

Rey climbed up around the TIE, opened the hatch and hopped in. But when she looked behind her, Ben made no move to follow. 

“What’s the matter?” Rey asked, poking her head out.

He hesitated.

“Maybe I shouldn’t…I shouldn’t go back with you.”

Rey slid down and stood in front of him, her brow furrowed, a medpack in her hand.

“What? No. No, no. It’s over, Ben. You can come home now.”

“What home?” he scoffed. “They don’t want me there…”

A shadow crossed his face.

“And Leia…”

“ _Your mother_ ,” Rey corrected, “will be overjoyed to see you back, safe, and most importantly free of Snoke. And Palpatine, I suppose,” she added after a moment’s consideration.

“I killed her husband,” Ben whispered. “My father.”

“Yeah,” Rey said. There was no point in sugar-coating it. “But you also saved her son from permanently losing himself in the Dark side.”

“The others…” he said, and she could tell he was thinking about her friends.

“You let me worry about the others,” she said smiling, handing him a stim canister. 

He injected the emergency dose of bacta, and at once the pain that had been contorting his face cleared. 

“Come home with me, Ben,” she said, taking his hand and moving towards the ship. “Please."

“Wait,” he said.

“What?” Rey said, frustration and exhaustion creeping into her voice.

Ben pulled her back to where he stood rooted to the spot. As soon as she’d tilted her face up to his, he leaned down and kissed her again. She felt every bit of tiredness melt away as her eyes fluttered shut and she lifted her free hand to rest at the back of his head, pulling him closer. For the second time that day, Ben held her close by resting his hand on the small of her back. Rey found that she loved when he did that. The intimacy of the gesture thrilled her, heightened by the fact their bodies were so close she could feel their hearts beating in tandem. 

All too soon, they broke apart, and he stared down at her, with that little smile that now seemed permanently fixed in place. She wasn’t ready to break the connection just yet. She gently wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest. He immediately pulled her closer in the embrace and just held her. She knew that very soon, the reality of what had almost happened would hit, and she didn’t know what sort of state it would leave her in. So for now, all she would do is hold on to the man who meant so much to her, thank the Force that they were together at last, then take his hand and lead him home.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't make it to the end of the pic by the TROS anniversary like I'd wanted to. But I'm pretty damn close. 
> 
> I just want to take a moment to shout out my beta reader. We met on this day a year ago in the lobby of the movie theatre before our TROS screening. She is an amazing human being, and I am so happy we're friends (crying together in public after a movie will usually bring people together right?)


	17. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Uh, before we join the party, there’s something I need to-”
> 
> She was cut off by the sight of Poe drawing his blaster and aiming it over her shoulder, and she was willing to bet she knew who it was pointed at.
> 
> “What are you doing here,” Poe spat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy TROS anniversary kiddos! (lol..."happy")
> 
> We're in the home stretch now! Thank you, thank you if you stuck with this story. You have no idea what it means to me

Poe’s X-Wing had barely settled in the clearing on Ajan Kloss before he was unbuckling his harness and hopping down to the ground. A lone tech ran up to him.

“General,” she said. “I’m sorry but we’re stretched a bit thin with all the extra ships flying in. It’ll be a while before we get to you.”

“It’s fine,” Poe said, clapping her on the shoulder. “I’m not going anywhere for a bit anyway.”

They could clearly make out the sounds of laughter and cheering closer to the Resistance camp. And was that...music?

The tech correctly guessed the direction of Poe’s thoughts.

“They’re celebrating,” she said with a smile. “Palpatine’s fleet was defeated; the galaxy can breathe easier.”

She sighed, smiling in disbelief. 

“If you’ll excuse me, General, I should be getting back,” she said, retreating the way she’d come. 

“Wait!” Poe called after her. “Take a message to the tech crew for me. If a ship's damage isn’t urgent, just leave it for tonight. Join the party.”

“General, we can’t just-”

“Would it help if it was an order?” Poe asked, grinning. 

The tech hesitated, then glanced around and nodded furtively. 

“In that case, I order you to relay the following to the crew: everyone is to take the night off.”

Her smile widened. She saluted, then took off towards the crew chief before Poe could change his mind. 

That settled, he engaged the droid that would remove BB-8 from the back of the X-Wing. Once the little droid was on the ground, he beeped enthusiastically and rolled towards Poe, who knelt down to give him his customary belly scratches. The two of them had survived, yet again, and Poe made sure to tell BB-8 just how amazing and brave he had been, and to thank him for everything. Once BB-8 had reciprocated the sentiment by nuzzling against his leg, Poe stood up. He was ready to venture into the crowd. 

There was no way every ship that had come to fight with them had returned here to Ajan Kloss but a good chunk of them had. He could make out many familiar faces in the crowd, and he waved or nodded at any whose eye he caught. He could see Wedge Antilles, one of his mentors, away in a quiet alcove of trees. With him was his wife Norra Wexley and Karé, their daughter-in-law. They were sitting on the ground, the hardness of the forest floor barely registering with them. Norra and Karé were sitting in stunned silence, while Wedge did his best to wordlessly comfort them. Poe would have to speak to them later. He had been Snap’s commanding officer, and his friend. He was still Karé’s commander. He owed it to them to at least offer his condolences. But that could wait. They needed to be with family right now. There would be many conversations of that kind in the coming weeks, but for today, there was only one conversation Poe was keen to have. 

He continued through the crowd. He could just see Zorii, sitting on a downed tree, helmet by her feet, her brown hair braided and cascading down one side as she cleaned her blaster. As though she could sense him looking at her, she looked up and caught his eye. He cocked his head and raised his eyebrows suggestively, an old joke from their younger days on Kijimi. She imitated his expression then rolled her eyes. Something over Poe’s shoulder caught her attention then. She smirked and tilted her head in the direction she was looking, a wordless command for Poe to turn around. He spun, casting his eyes around to find what had caught Zorii’s attention. Then he saw him. 

The only person he truly wanted to see and speak to right now. 

He weaved in and around the crowd carefully in a bid to get to Finn as fast as possible, without having to stop and apologize for treading on anyone. The two men stopped face to face in one of the little clearings that stood between the landing areas and the camp. 

“You made it! You’re ok,” Finn said at once. 

“So did you! You’re-” Poe paused, taking in Finn’s appearance. He was wearing Poe’s old jacket, which was now in need of a good deep cleaning. “You’re still wearing that jacket?"

“Well yeah,” Finn said, shrugging and stepping just a tad closer to Poe and lowering his voice. “I always wear it on missions. It’s how I keep you with me. About that, actually, and about what you said on the comms-”

“I’m sorry,” Poe said, immediately. “It was the heat of the moment, I shouldn’t have put you on the spot, I thought I was about to die, I shouldn’t have-”

He noticed that Finn, who had been slowly inching even closer, had stopped in his tracks. He was so close, Poe could see the chain he’d given him peeking out from under his collar.

“Oh, and then to give you my mother’s wedding ring right before you left,” Poe said, visibly cringing. “Of all the melodramatic-”

“Wait,” Finn said, laying his hands softly on Poe’s shoulders. Finn had never touched him so deliberately and intimately before. Poe was certain that if he were a droid, his circuits would have misfired.

“So you didn’t mean what you said?” Finn asked. He reached into his shirt and pulled out the chain, fiddling with the ring at the end of it. “And you didn’t mean anything by giving me this either?”

“When you didn’t say anything back, I just figured…”

“I couldn’t get a signal out,” Finn said. Poe stopped breathing. “That is the  _ only _ reason.”

“What are you saying, Finn?”

Finn rolled his eyes.

“I’m saying I love you too, you idiot.”

Poe pulled Finn into a tight embrace, the way he’d done when they first saw each other again on D’Qar after surviving their Jakku ordeal. Only this time, Poe also did what he’d wanted to do since that day. He shifted back slightly, resting one hand on Finn’s hip, and the other behind his head, then crushed his lips to Finn’s. He was tentative at first, until Finn responded with such enthusiasm that Poe deepened the kiss. Finn lowered his hands, wrapping them around Poe’s back. 

_ Finally _ , Poe thought. One final trace of doubt surfaced unbidden in his mind. Poe broke the kiss and looked at Finn.

“Wait. Rose?”

“Why do you think we broke up? She knows how I feel about you.”

Finn smiled his charming smile and leaned in again, kissing Poe softly on the corner of his mouth. Poe moved away almost immediately, even though his knees had gone weak. 

“And Rey?”

“She’s just a friend and- Are we seriously doing this right now?”

“Right, sorry. Sorry.” Poe shook his head. He was being silly. Finn had said he  _ loved _ him. He pushed the last of his doubts away.

Finn ran a hand reassuringly up and down Poe’s back, then cupped his face and kissed him again.

***

Rey awoke in her seat with a jolt. The TIE fighter had dropped out of hyperspace and was approaching Ajan Kloss. Ben was piloting on manual, following the coordinates she’d input before they left Coruscant. She leaned forward in her small emergency seat and rested her hand on his bicep. Ben jumped at the sudden contact, and Rey withdrew her hand immediately. 

“Sorry,” she said quickly.

At the sound of her voice, Ben relaxed.

“No, I’m sorry, I- I think I’m a little nervous.”

“Your mother wants you here, Ben,” Rey said quietly. She half stood up, set her hand on his arm once more, and planted a light kiss on his cheek. “As do I.”

“Well, that’s two down,” Ben said, taking her hand in his and squeezing it. “Several hundred to go.”

Rey sat back in her seat as they broke atmosphere. She could deny it all she wanted but he was right. She’d never told anyone about the special bond she shared with him, though perhaps Leia had suspected something. She’d had a lot of time to get used to the idea of Ben Solo, of the man he truly was. But how would the others feel, to suddenly have Kylo Ren living in their midst?

She guided Ben to a little-used clearing far enough from the other ships that it was unlikely anyone would be hanging around. Their arrival had likely attracted some attention already, though. The scream of a TIE fighter was so distinctive. Ben landed the TIE and opened the hatch, letting Rey slide out first, and following right behind her. As soon as he’d landed in the soft grass, she took his hand and guided him towards the sound of raucous festivities in the distance. They ducked around tall trees, avoiding clusters of people Rey didn’t know well, or at all. She kept her eyes peeled for Finn. If anyone would understand, it would be him. She did finally spot him after a few minutes, on the edge of the crowd, locked in a passionate embrace with Poe. 

And really, it was about time.

Ben let go of her hand and nudged her forward. She took a tentative step towards Finn, keeping her eyes on Ben to make sure he was following. Satisfied that he was, Rey began to move faster.

“Finn!” she shrieked, running forward.

Finn and Poe leapt apart, expressions of surprise replaced immediately with ones of glee once they saw who was shouting.

“Rey!” Finn yelled back, hurrying to meet her, with Poe following on his heels. 

The two men scooped Rey up in a bone-crushing hug.

“You’re OK,” Finn whispered. “You’re OK, you’re OK.”

“Of course I’m OK, Finn,” Rey muttered into his shoulder.

They set her down.

“I had this feeling something…something terrible happened to you.”

“You’re…not entirely wrong,” Rey said.

“What?” Finn asked, alarmed. Rey just shook her head.

“Later.” 

Poe broke the odd silence that had settled over them.

“Well, I’m glad you’re back in one piece. You’re a…decent enough pilot. I’d hate to lose you.” 

Rey lightly shoved him.

“I’m just so happy to see you both. I’m glad you finally…”

She waved her hand at the two of them, indicating that she’d seen what they were doing before she’d arrived.

“You knew that we-?” Finn asked.

“Rose figured it out. She told me,” Rey said, laughing. As if summoned by the sound of her name, Rose came bounding over and wrapped her arms around Rey, before pulling Finn and Poe into yet another hug. All of Rey’s tiredness was forgotten. In that moment, she could have stayed with her friends like this all day. But there was something she needed to do first. She broke away and faced them all.

“Uh, before we join the party, there’s something I need to-”

She was cut off by the sight of Poe drawing his blaster and aiming it over her shoulder, and she was willing to bet she knew who it was pointed at.

“What are  _ you _ doing here,” Poe spat.

“Poe…,” she began.

“It’s OK, Rey, I can handle this,” Ben said from behind her.

“I think I’ve got a pretty good idea how you ‘handle’ things,” Poe said, rage written all over his face.

Rey turned to look at Ben. He’d moved no closer, and had both hands lifted in a gesture of surrender. 

“I don’t expect any kind of welcome,” Ben said. “I’m only here to see my mother.”

“What, to finish the job?”

“POE!” Rose yelled, horrified. 

She was the only one of them who’d never encountered Kylo Ren, but had heard plenty of horror stories from Poe, and even Finn on occasion. Rey appreciated her stepping in now, so she didn’t feel so hideously outnumbered.

“Rey,” Ben said, lowering his voice. “I think I’ll just go wait by the TIE.”

“You’re not going to-”

Ben took her hand and gently kissed her fingers. Rey could hear Poe’s indignant scoff, but decided not to dignify it with a response.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Ben said, his eyes warm as he smiled at her. “Come find me later.”

Ben walked back through the thicket of trees they’d arrived from. The moment he was out of sight, Rey rounded on Poe.

“What is the  _ matter _ with you? Could you give me just the slightest bit of credit? Do you really think I would bring someone dangerous back here? Someone who wanted to hurt Leia?”

“Rey, he  _ is _ dangerous. He used his freaky ability to see inside my head. Normal people don’t  _ do _ things like that!”

“Freaky ability?” Rey said, in a voice that could freeze water in the Jakku summertime.

“Rey, you know that’s not what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean?”

“That up until, what,  _ five minutes ago _ that guy was the Supreme Leader of the First Order. You might be willing to forget all that, but I’m not.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Of course it isn’t,” Poe said, rolling his eyes.

He shook his head and rubbed his temples, then walked away in frustration.

“Poe, wait!” Finn called. But Poe just waved his hand as if to say ‘later’ and kept walking.

Rose, who had been silent since her little outburst, looked between Finn and Rey for a moment, made an excuse about checking on the Falcon, then left. 

Once they were alone, Finn spoke. 

“Rey, I don’t know what that was…but you have to admit it’s a lot.”

“I know it’s a lot. Him being here, what happened on Kef Bir, what happened to me on Coruscant-”

“Wait, what happened to you on Coruscant?” Finn said, immediately cradling Rey’s shoulders in his hands. 

She knew she should probably explain it to Finn. Tell him what had happened, what Palpatine had tried to get her to do. How in one inexplicable moment, the mantle and responsibility of what it meant to be a Jedi had settled on her and flowed through her. How Palpatine had actually killed her and how Ben had saved her the same way she’d saved him. How she felt about Ben, and how scared she was that she would lose him. 

But she was so tired. And so very overwhelmed. 

The kindness in Finn’s eyes and his genuine concern sent her over the edge. With a shuddering sob, she buried her face in her hands and started to cry. Finn pulled her into a hug, setting his cheek on the top of her head. Though Rey was never the type to cry for long, this time was the exception. Finn guided her to a tree stump and sat them both down. She lost track of how long she sat there sobbing. She’d occasionally tried to apologize or offer some kind of explanation, only for Finn to shush her efforts. 

Eventually she calmed down enough to lift her head from Finn’s chest. He handed her a canteen of water that he’d gotten from somewhere, which she took gratefully.

“You don’t have to tell me. If you don’t want to,” Finn said, quietly.

But tell him she did. Everything that had happened since they’d separated on Kef Bir came spilling out of her, and Finn, to his credit, did his level best to keep up. He nodded in the right places and offered no comments unless prompted to do so.

“So he’s…different now?” Finn asked, looking back at the direction Ben had headed.

“Yes. And no? It’s hard to explain. He’s always been…this. But he wasn’t.”

Finn sighed. 

“I’ll talk to Poe. I’ll calm him down, but this isn’t going to be easy for him to understand. How can I ask him to trust…Ky-Ben? After what he went through?” Finn said.

“He doesn’t have to trust Ben right away. I’m just asking for you, and for everyone else, to trust  _ me.” _

“I do, Rey. Implicitly.”

He stood up and brushed stray leaves off his pants, and Rey followed suit. 

“I should go find Poe,” Finn said.

“And I should go back for Ben. He’s waited long enough to see Leia.”

Finn laughed quietly, confusing Rey. There was hardly anything funny about what she’d just said. 

“What?”

“It’s funny. Two lost, lonely kids steal a ship to just run away. End up surrounded by all this,” Finn said, gesturing around at not only the greenery but the crowd of beings that populated it, “and our biggest problem at the moment is having so many friends we’ve lost some in the crowd.”

Rey cracked a smile as the truth of it settled on her. She’d been running, fighting, and training for so long, she hadn’t had time to appreciate that she hadn’t actually been alone and just barely surviving for a while. It was a nice feeling.

“I’m happy for us too, Finn.”

***

Rose decided it had been a good idea to venture into the thick of the crowd. As much as she loved her friends, things had gotten intense very quickly, and she’d been glad of the excuse to step away. 

She did check on the Falcon, as she said she would. But it wasn’t more than a cursory glance. She and Rey kept it so well-maintained, and she hadn’t been in the thick of battle for long anyway. Unsure what to do other than have fun for a change, Rose gladly accepted a drink from a pilot who was enthusiastically handing them out, perched on top of one of the long tables in the centre of the camp and watched the crowd for a while. She watched Commander D’Acy all but sprint into her wife’s arms as soon as the latter had climbed out of her X-Wing, and giggled at the usually sombre officers utter lack of reserve. She watched as some of the camp aides hauled out the makings of an epic feast and started to prepare it. She watched as friends and family found each other in the throngs of people and tearfully reunited. Rose reached under her shirt for her necklace, slid it out and held it tight. 

“Paige, I wish you could see this,” she whispered. She looked to the sky and raised her cup, in a silent toast to her sister, and felt a light tap on the end of it. Startled, she brought her eyes back down and saw Jannah standing there, a drink of her own in her hand. 

“Sorry!” Jannah said, no doubt in response to the startled look on Rose’s face. “I just…no one should have to toast a fallen comrade alone.”

“My sister, actually,” Rose said, quietly. “But thank you, I appreciate it.”

The two women sipped from their cups, and Jannah joined Rose on the table. 

“So, what now?” Jannah asked after a moment.

“Huh?” Rose asked.

“Don’t get me wrong, I am so  _ so _ happy we have tonight to celebrate. But I can’t help but wonder what comes next.”

Rose sighed. 

“I hate to admit it, but I do too. I wish I could drop everything and enjoy the party but…”

“You’re not used to stopping?”

Rose shook her head.

“I don’t think I ever have. Not since the First Order came to my homeworld.”

But before Rose and Jannah could wallow too long in their thoughts of the future, someone grabbed Rose from behind, wrapping their arms around her tightly. Rose tensed for the briefest moment before catching a glimpse of Connix’s face out of the corner of her eye. She relaxed and raised her hands to grab Connix’s arms.

“I’m so glad you’re back. I was so worried when our signal stopped going through! General Calrissian told me you actually  _ flew the Falcon into battle _ ?”

“Technically he did the actual flying,” Rose said laughing.

Connix smacked her arm, looking worried.

“Still!”

Not wanting Jannah to feel excluded, Rose shifted her position slightly to introduce them, since they hadn’t met properly the last time they were all on Ajan Kloss.

“Jannah, this is Kaydel Ko Connix, my bunkmate. Kay, this is Jannah, one of the former troopers we met on Kef Bir.”

“Hi!” Jannah said, smiling and extending a hand. Connix, however, had gone stiff as a board. Rose gently nudged Connix in the ribs and she extended her hand automatically. Jannah looked confused at the bizarre reception, but Rose had her suspicions about what was going on. 

“Kay,” Rose said carefully. “Would you like to join us?

“Yeah ok,” Connix said at once, wedging herself between the two women, not taking her eyes off Jannah. 

That confirmed Rose’s suspicions. Connix spent so much time working, she never knew how to act around a crush. And this time was no exception. 

Rose resumed her people watching, smirking into her cup every time Connix laughed unnaturally hard at something Jannah said. The more mundane the comment, the harder the laugh. Once, Rose had peeked over to check on Jannah and make sure she was ok with the sudden attention, but it looked like she was actually enjoying herself. She might have even been laying it on a little thick. But if Connix was enjoying herself…

Their little group was interrupted after about 15 minutes by a man with a scarred face wearing a black bodysuit. Rose recognized it as the kind of suit worn under stormtrooper armour. 

“Hiya Track,” Jannah said, nodding. 

“Jannah. I was looking for the officer who handled communications with…with the First Order spy.” At this, he gave Jannah a significant look. “I was pointed in this direction but I don’t know who I’m looking for.”

“It’s actually Rose and myself, we were the contact point for the spy,” Connix said, sitting up a little straighter. 

“Oh, ok. Well could you come with me, the General wants to see you.”

Connix deflated. She’d likely wanted to sound impressive in front of Jannah, and now she was being summoned away.

“Oh. Yeah, OK,” she said, sliding off the table they were still seated on.

“Wait,” Rose said, shooting to her feet. “I’ll go, you stay.” To Track she added “I’m Rose!”

Rose smiled as she followed Track out of the clearing. She leapt at the chance to have something to do, and if that meant she could also leave Connix and Jannah to flirt with each other, so much the better.

The man named Track led Rose to the little-used detention cell on the outskirts of the camp. When Finn saw them, he waved her over to where he waited outside. Track saluted and left, leaving Rose on her own.

“What’s going on Finn?” 

For a moment she worried that Poe had become so irate earlier he’d either locked Ben Solo up and thrown away the key, or else locked himself in the cell in an almighty sulk.

“He won’t talk to anyone else. Says he wants it to be his Resistance contact, so…”

“What, the spy?” Rose said, lighting up. She’d been decoding the messages for so long, she couldn’t believe she’d actually have a chance to meet the sender.

“Yeah, but Rose, about that-”

Rose dashed off to the detention block and peered through the barred door. She gasped sharply. Against the back wall stood a tall man in stormtrooper armour. His face was bruised and his lip was split and scabbed. A lock of red hair fell limply into his eyes, which had lost all their usual cold bravado and just looked utterly defeated.. 

“Hux?” she said, spinning to face Finn. “The spy is General Hux?”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Our babies remain extremely dramatic, and we love them for it. Not long to go now!


	18. Celebration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Oh, General, there was a young man here to see you. Along with Rey.”
> 
> “Young man?” Leia asked, her heart beating quicker. She didn’t dare voice her hope of who that man could be, so instead she asked, “Finn? Or perhaps General Dameron?”
> 
> “No, ma’am. I haven’t seen this man before. He was tall,” the doctor said, indicating just how tall with her hands. “He was also quite reluctant to leave your side.”

Ben retreated back among the trees, trying not to get lost in the endless jungle of Ajan Kloss. He’d told Rey he would meet her back at the TIE fighter, but at this rate, he would be lucky if he could even find it. He was certain he was walking in circles. His only metric for direction was that the sounds of celebration stay on his left-hand side. Even then, he supposed he could walk a ring around the Resistance camp and that would remain true. 

He heard a shuffling in the trees ahead and shrank back into the shadows. The only reason that pilot - Poe Dameron, he remembered - hadn’t immediately shot him in the head was because Rey was there to stop him. He had no such formidable protection this time. 

The sound got closer and closer. Whoever it was was not moving with any particular caution. He heard a sniffing sound, then a question posed in Shyriiwook. His skills were very rusty, but he recognized the phrase:  _ is that you? _

Chewie.

Ben stepped out cautiously from the shadows, his head low in shame. The last two times he’d seen his father’s best friend were moments in his life he’d give anything to forget, and the day had already been long and draining enough. He didn’t think he could handle it, but then again there was little point in hiding from a Wookie. As he came face to face with Chewbacca, neither of them made any move towards the other.

_ Are you here to hurt Leia? _ , Chewie asked Ben slowly.

“No,” Ben said quietly. 

_ And the…the darkness? Is it gone? _

“Yes,” Ben said, his voice thick with emotion. “At least, I hope so.”

Chewie roared and Ben flinched, certain that the Wookie didn’t believe him, and was about to take one of his arms off to prove it. But in a turn of events he didn’t see coming, Ben was pulled into a massive hug by Chewie, his nearly two meter frame lifted clean into the air. 

_ Welcome home! _ Chewie roared excitedly, before setting him back down.

“Thanks…Chewbacca,” Ben said, unsure how to proceed now.

_ Don’t start that again. It’s Uncle Chewie, and don’t you forget it, Little Hotshot. _

Ben wasn’t sure if it was the use of their old nicknames, or the anxiety he felt at not knowing was was going to happen to him. Perhaps it was just general exhaustion. But the next thing he knew, he was slumped forward, burying his face in Chewbacca’s fur the way he used to do when he got upset when he was small. He screwed his eyes together, willing himself not to cry. Now that all major threats were out of the way, and he no longer had something as primal as “safety” to focus on, Ben could feel horrible memories beginning to swirl in his head. All the things he’d done in the years working for Snoke. The lives he’d taken. The orders he’d given. The total disregard he’d had for anything that didn’t directly fuel his own self-loathing. It all came rushing back to him, and he screwed his eyes even tighter, shaking his head as though banishing the memories was that simple. 

In short, Ben was beginning to spiral.

Chewie, who’d been hugging Ben since he’d leaned forward onto his chest, tapped him on the back now to get his attention. Ben looked up through bleary eyes. Chewie stepped back, keeping one hand on Ben, and led him through the woods. 

They were careful to avoid the crowd, which grew by the minute in both size and volume. Ben wasn’t sure where Chewie was leading him, but he did keep an eye out for the TIE fighter - and for Rey - as they walked. Finally, they stopped in front of a small bunker. A medic exited just as they arrived. She looked at Chewie and smiled, an expression that shifted into one of suspicion and curiosity once she noticed Ben. She nodded at Chewie, then hurried away. Ben was pushed towards the door and he peeked inside. He wished then that he’d thought to ask Chewie where they were going. He was completely unprepared for the sight that awaited him.

“Mom.”

***

The woman outside looked familiar, though at the moment Hux couldn’t place her. She certainly seemed to know him, but then again, most people did.

She was arguing with the former stormtrooper -  _ Finn _ he reminded himself - about something to do with her qualifications. That she was perfectly capable of “handling this” alone.

_ This _ being him, he could only assume. 

She appeared to win the argument, and Finn walked away, after imploring her to call him the moment anything went wrong. As if Hux weren’t currently in binders and behind a set of thick bars. She approached the cell and peered curiously at him, not saying a word.

“You’re my handler, then?” he said after a few moments, unable to take the silence any longer.

“One of them,” she replied simply. “And you’re General Hux.”

She had a distinctive voice too. Stars, he’d heard this woman speak before, but  _ where? _

“I don’t know about ‘General’,” he said in a feeble attempt to lighten the mood. “It’s just Armitage now.”

“If you say so.”

Her lips were pressed together in a line. There was curiosity and a barely repressed anger in her eyes. Hux was certain that if looks could kill, he would have already joined his father in whatever miserable afterlife no doubt awaited him. 

“I hear you want to help us stop the rest of the First Order,” she said, her tone business-like. 

“Yes,” Hux said quickly. “Any information I possess, it’s yours.”

“Why?”

That threw him for a loop.

“ _ Why?” _

She raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms, unamused. As she did so, a pendant fell out of her button-down shirt. A crescent-moon sort of shape made of Haysian smelt. It then hit him, why this woman looked so familiar. 

“You’re that spy! The Resistance spy we caught on board the  _ Supremacy _ last year.”

“ _ I’m _ a spy? That’s rich coming from you.”

“Well,” Hux said shrugging, “I don’t know how else to identify you.”

“Commander Tico will do,” she snapped. “I’m going to ask you again: why?”

“You need me,” Hux said, standing up and walking towards the bar. He’d expected to either be shot on sight or else recognized for the asset he was. What he hadn’t counted on was being interrogated by a very angry commander who questioned his motives.

“We have entire ships of former stormtroopers on the way here. Any one of them could give us the information we need. So let me be clear, we can stop whatever is left of the First Order without your help.”

He scoffed.

“The word of  _ stormtroopers _ won’t get you very far.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. You didn’t seem to know anything about Shadow Legion until they overthrew Palpatine’s fleet.  _ General, _ ” she added, stressing his former title. 

She had him there. So why did he want to help?

He told her the same thing he’d told the others. How the First Order took things too far, how power became the name of the game. 

“The First Order was founded on the principles of the old Empire, but was never meant to imitate the more…authoritarian style of governance,” Hux explained. “It was only meant to bring order and stability.”

“How can you even say that, having done what you did?”

“The circumstance of my upbringing was, shall we say…aggravating and unconventional.”

“How, exactly?”

“I’d rather not, if you don’t mind.”

To her credit, she dropped the line of questioning immediately, and instead considered what he had told her.

“Fine. If you’re serious…?”

“I am.”

She nodded.

“Then I’ll make a call. There’s someone who can speak to you, help you transition to the Resistance properly.”

“I thought I was to be dealing with you,” Hux said, surprised by how desperate he sounded. Though it was clear she hated everything he stood for, this Commander Tico had been the first one within the Resistance to show him a degree of patience and understanding. 

“I’ll still be involved,” she said. “But we have someone who specifically deals with high-value informants.”

She paused to consider.

“In fact, if we’d known it was you from the get-go, we would have probably sent your messages straight to him.”

“Very well, I shall wait here,” Hux said. As though he had a choice in the matter.

Rose started to walk away, then turned back around. She hesitated, then asked him a question he had not expected.

“Do you regret it? What you did?”

Hux froze. He hadn’t really considered this before.

“Do I regret trying to do my best by the galaxy by bringing some sense of order to it? No, I don’t.”

“Don’t repeat the propaganda to me,” she said, shaking her head. “Do you regret what you did to entire planets? Hays Minor, for instance? Kijimi?” 

She paused, then spoke the words he’d been terrified of hearing.

“The Hosnian system?” she asked quietly.

“I…”

Hux had no idea what to say. He reached down into the doubts he’d squashed down in his most private moments, needing to present a brave face to the stormtroopers, and for the first time, spoke the truth that had been haunting him for the past year.

“I regret the loss of life, but you have to understand-”

Her eyes widened and he couldn’t blame her. It really sounded as though he were about to justify himself.

“Human life was never a consideration. For any of us. All information was presented and considered in statistics, in numbers and charts. We knew there was a human element to it all…but after a few years it becomes easier if you just stop thinking about it.”

Commander Tico covered her mouth with one of her hands, looking absolutely terrified. Tears pricked at her eyes, and she hurriedly blinked them away. Though Hux couldn’t explain it, he hated himself for making her feel this way.

“I’m sorry if I frightened you,” he said. “It wasn’t my intention.”

“No,” she said quickly. “No, it’s…I asked, so…it’s fine.”

“However, I will say,” Hux added, “if you add the human element back in, then yes. I do regret what I did. I doubt a day will go by in which I don’t. I might feel people need a degree of controlling, but…no one deserves what I did to them.”

“Thank you…Armitage. For your honesty.”

She turned to leave again, when Hux called out.

“If I may ask something in turn?”

She stopped walking and turned her head back to look at him.

“Your name? You have mine, I’m at a disadvantage.”

She seemed to weigh the pros and cons for a moment.

“Rose,” she said finally, smiling very slightly. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Till tomorrow…Rose.”

***

Rey stood in the clearing where the TIE had landed, and she was very, very worried. Ben had a head start on her and yet was nowhere to be found. Had he gotten lost? Or worse had someone recognized him and decided to carry out swift justice on behalf of the Resistance, fuelled by adrenaline and too much liquor?

She nervously drummed her fingers on the cup someone had handed her as she headed away from the party. It was full of the same alcohol that now flowed freely through the Resistance camp. As she left the party, she noticed everyone else seemed to be enjoying it, but if she were being entirely honest, it smelled like the solution she used to clean machine parts back on Jakku. She was not entirely convinced that it wasn’t, in fact, exactly that. 

She was just contemplating whether or not dumping it out on the forest floor would cause irreparable harm to the local ecosystem when a rustling in the trees caught her attention.

“Ben?” she called, casting her eyes about for his dark silhouette. 

It was a dark haired man, after all. But the one she least expected to see. 

“Nope, sorry,” Poe said, waving. “Just me.”

“Oh.” Rey said, unsure how to act around him. “Hello.”

It seemed Poe didn’t much know what to do either. He stood in front of her, casting his eyes about and saying nothing. Rey decided to end the awkwardness.

“What-”

“I’m sorry,” Poe said suddenly, cutting her off. “About before. I…yeah.”

He shrugged, looking utterly defeated.

“Did Finn speak to you?” Rey asked.

“Finn? No, I don’t actually know where he went. No, after I left I…did some thinking. I shouldn’t have reacted like that without checking with you first. I should have trusted that you wouldn’t do anything to harm any of us.”

Rey was surprised, and touched as well. She and Poe had had their fair share of scraps over the last year that were usually only resolved with Finn acting as mediator. 

“Thank you,” she said. “For saying that. And you’ll see, in time, Ben is…he’s not what you think. Not anymore.”

Poe sighed and shook his head.

“You know I actually knew him? Before all this, when we were kids? Not  _ well _ , our parents were friends, saw him a few times before he went off to…wherever. Training, I guess? But he was a sweet kid, we got along. I couldn’t believe it when I heard Leia talk about what he’d become. Then, that day on Jakku when the First Order took me in, when he looked at me through that mask, not a trace of recognition in his voice? When he  _ tortured _ me for information? That’s when I realized that little kid was well and truly gone.”

Rey’s eyes widened in shock. She’d had no idea, though she supposed it all made sense. She nodded, indicating Poe should go on.

“So now you say he’s changed, he’s different. I sure hope you’re right, Rey. But I don’t think I’m ready to trust him just yet.”

Rey reached out and briefly clasped Poe’s arm in a show of friendship.

“I understand. Whenever you’re ready, I’ll reintroduce you.”

Poe nodded, but didn’t leave. Rey sensed some hesitation, realizing he probably didn’t want to just leave her here after making a heartfelt confession. She understood, but she couldn’t help but feel frustrated. She was tired and dirty. She just wanted to see Ben settled in somewhere, maybe shower and then sleep for three days straight. But with no sounds of approaching footsteps in the distance, she started to think Ben wasn’t going to meet her here after all. 

“Are you ok?” Poe asked. “You look worried.”

Rey sighed.

“You haven’t seen Ben around have you? He was supposed to meet me here.”

“Um, yeah, I think I saw him on the edge of camp. Medical bunkers. I’ll walk you over.”

The walk to the medical bunkers was mostly silent, save for Rey coyly mentioning that she was happy to see Finn and Poe together at last. Poe shyly admitted that his hesitation had stemmed in part from thinking Finn preferred Rey instead, to which Rey responded with a loud laugh.

“He’s a brother, Poe. That’s it,” Rey said seriously, before breaking into a smile. “You’re a lucky man.”

She paused.

“And so is he,” she added.

They’d reached the medical bunkers and were standing outside one of the private treatment rooms. Poe angled his head towards the door, indicating that Rey should proceed alone. She waved her thanks and cautiously opened the door.

The space was small and filled with natural light, which filtered in through the large window on the back wall. A single small bed made up the centre of the space. One side of the bed was given over to medical equipment. On the other side was a small, uncomfortable-looking chair, where Ben was currently sitting huddled, his arms resting on the bed, his two large hands cradling the much smaller hand of the bed’s occupant: Leia.

“Hi,” Rey said softly.

Ben turned at the sound of her voice.

His eyes looked bloodshot and his face was a little swollen, no doubt mirroring what her own must look like after her conversation with Finn.

“You look like you’ve been crying,” he observed, his voice thick with barely suppressed emotion.

“So do you,” Rey said with a small smile. 

“A dyad in all ways I guess,” he said, the corner of his mouth twitching into a grin that did not meet his eyes. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

“Not now, but we will,” Rey said, approaching and wrapping her arms around him. “How is she?”

“I…I don’t know,” Ben said, his voice breaking. He shut his eyes and a single tear leaked out. “Medic came by once, said she just…needs time. Whatever that means. Rey, what if I’m too late?

“She knows you’re here Ben, she can sense it. When she’s ready, she’ll wake up.”

“She’s right you know,” said a new voice suddenly. The camp’s chief medic, a middle-aged no-nonsense woman Rey had seen before but never met, strode into the room clutching a datapad.

“Out, both of you!” she said, making a shooing motion with her hands. “I need to run some tests.”

Rey stepped back from Ben, but he remained in his seat, holding Leia’s hand. The medic’s businesslike demeanour softened. 

“If anything changes, I’ll come find you,” she said. “Now, you young people should go join the party.”

As they stepped outside, Rey took Ben’s hand and led him towards the sounds of the festivities in the distance. 

“It’s fine,” Rey said, more to herself than to Ben. “It’ll be just fine.”

He squeezed her hand, more nervous than she was herself.

But they just stood there at a distance, watching the crowd.

“Hey!” someone called out. Rey turned and saw Rose approaching from the other direction, waving.

“Ready to do this?” Rose asked.

“A little nervous,” Ben muttered.

Rey could see that Rose was hesitating. Their eyes met, and Rey tried to convey a sort of wordless apology for the awkward situation she must be putting her friend in. It must have gotten through in some form, because Rose smiled and nodded quickly, then seized Rey and Ben’s unoccupied hands and dragged them forward.

“Stick with me, it’ll be fine!” Rose said. “No one ever gets mad when I’m around!”

***

The last thing Leia had been aware of was the feeling of cold sabaac dice clutched in her hands as she slipped into a meditative state. 

After that, she’d been in a sort of limbo, never dreaming concretely, but instead seeing flashes of her life, of her son’s, her husband’s, and even a few of her brother’s. 

So when her eyes finally, definitively opened again, it took her a minute to adjust to the sight of the real world around her. The ceiling above her looked familiar enough, but then again all these bunkers were built the same, no matter their purpose. Her eyes darted around, aided by the slightest movement of her head. She wasn’t in her own room anymore, but what looked like one of the medical bunkers. She noted that she wasn’t alone, in the room. Doctor Kiso, their new chief medic, was fussing on a data pad not looking at Leia. Summoning all her strength, Leia spoke.

“Doctor Kiso.”

The doctor screamed, then apologized profusely. She brought over a glass of water and helped Leia sit up to drink it. She then began immediately running all kinds of diagnostic scans, while updating Leia on everything she’d missed.

They had actually stopped the fleet. Leia had never felt so proud. Words completely escaped her, but tears of joy had sprung up in her eyes.

“What’s the verdict, Doctor?” Leia asked kindly, once she’d gotten a hold on herself.

“Well,” Doctor Kiso replied, “your vitals have greatly improved. But I would caution you to take it easy, don’t move around too much, lots of rest.”

“Sounds good,” Leia said. “Where’s my cane?”

“Ma’am?”

“I’m leaving.”

The doctor looked stunned.

“Ma’am with all due respect-”

Leia held up a hand.

“I can rest perfectly well in my own bunk, Doctor. Besides, I want to go congratulate the team. If I know anything about rebellions, I know they’re celebrating this victory in style right this very second.”

The doctor hesitated, then handed Leia her cane from the corner where it had been resting. She helped her stand up and held on as Leia took her first couple of cautious steps. 

Leia opened the door and was about to step out when the doctor called out to her.

“Oh, General, there was a young man here to see you. Along with Rey.”

“Young man?” Leia asked, her heart beating quicker. She didn’t dare voice her hope of who that man could be, so instead she asked, “Finn? Or perhaps General Dameron?”

“No, ma’am. I haven’t seen this man before. He was tall,” the doctor said, indicating just how tall with her hands. “He was also quite reluctant to leave your side.”

Leia gasped sharply.  _ Ben? Could it be? _ She nodded her thanks and hurried out of the medical bunker. 

Leia was grateful that twilight had come to Ajan Kloss, providing her with shadows to conceal herself in. She knew that once she was spotted, she would be overtaken with well-wishers, and she would lose her chance to find out if Ben was truly here. She stood in a cluster of trees near the largest clearing and watched the party. These poor young people had had so little cause for celebration over the last few years, she was happy to see them letting loose at last. She scanned the crowd and saw Finn and Poe talking to some of Poe’s crew, drinks in one hand, the fingers of their other hands interlaced with one another.

_ Good _ , Leia thought.  _ It’s about time _ .

She spotted Lieutenant Connix dancing with a girl Leia had never seen before, their arms thrown around each other, and smiled. She continued scanning the crowd unsuccessfully, until a peal of laughter caught her attention. 

“That sounds like Rose,” Leia muttered. It was good to hear Rose laughing, hers was so infectious. Leia turned towards the source of the laugh and saw that it was, in fact, Rose, standing with two others. Rey was there, thank the Force, looking tired and a little worse for wear, but otherwise happy and at ease. The two women were also joined by-

_ Oh. Oh my. _

Leia could hardly believe what she was seeing. The last time she’d seen him, he’d been a little boy, hardly a teenager. And now, he stood just there, not 10 meters away, a fully grown man. 

_ And he looks so much like Han _ .

Leia took a shaky breath and felt tears prickling at her eyes. She wiped them away quickly. She didn’t want anything obscuring her view of her son. But how to get his attention? She truly did not want to venture into the crowd and get pulled in a million directions.

She needn’t have worried. It was as though he could sense he was being watched. He looked up and his eyes met hers right away. He froze in place, like a small animal facing a predator. Leia smiled and nodded at him. He set a hand on Rey’s shoulder, whispered something to her then made his way through the clearing towards Leia. Rey turned and watched him go, her face brightening when she saw where exactly Ben was headed. 

There would be time to talk to Rey. Leia wanted to know everything that had happened. But for now, there was only one person who occupied her attention, the man who stood before her now.

She inclined her head all the way up and looked at him.

“You’ve gotten so tall,” she quipped. “You got that from your father.”

“Mom, I-”

“I know,” Leia said, pulling her son into a hug at long, long last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed part one of what is essentially a three part epilogue. I didn't manage to finish by the TROS anniversary, but I got pretty close!
> 
> It's all sweet sentiment from here on out (as if this whole chapter wasn't exactly that haha)


	19. Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She watched an expression of wonder bloom across his face as they took in their new surroundings. The rocks that had previously surrounded them on the ground now hovered a few feet in the air. 
> 
> “Am I doing this?” Finn whispered.
> 
> “You are,” Rey replied just as quietly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaah so close to the ending! This chapter is a little longer, I just have a lot of feelings

For the first time in a long time, Rey permitted herself to sleep in. And even so, she was still awake shortly after dawn. She sat up in her small bunk and took a moment to appreciate the silence of the base around her. 

The festivities had gone long into the night, long after Rey had given up and stumbled away in exhaustion, determined to shower and change before she went anywhere near her bed. She had died in these clothes and she’d be damned if she was sleeping in them. And so, with damp hair braided, and dressed in old but clean training clothes, Rey had fallen asleep, the sounds of music and laughter acting as the sweetest of lullabies. But the silence of the early morning was a lovely tune all on its own, a melody playing just for her. 

She slipped out of bed, fixed her hair quickly, since it had pulled loose from its braid and was now a tangled mess, then slipped out the door, lightsaber in hand. 

There was the slightest chill in the air as she quietly wound her way through the base, offering quick waves to those who had risen early for various duties, or those who were awake still because they couldn’t sleep from all the excitement. She passed the outdoor dining area and snatched a roll without breaking her stride, casting her eyes about for familiar faces. She spied Rose, yawning very widely over a steaming mug of caf, at one of the further tables. Rose caught her eye and Rey waved, then held her lightsaber aloft in response to the other woman’s inquiring look. Rose replied with a thumbs-up, then sipped at the contents of her mug. 

By the time Rey had finished eating her pilfered breakfast, she’d reached the edge of her training course. She sat among the loose ring of stones that marked the starting point, and crossed her legs, her lightsaber in her hand.

She reached out and drew on the Force, letting it surround her, bind itself to her, and finally lift her a few feet into the air. She loved the feeling of floating, of meditating in this way. She loved how complete the process felt, now that she had a lightsaber she’d made herself, one not tied to anyone else’s legacy, but one to truly call her own. She had never before felt so connected to the Force, and she decided to try her luck one final time.

“Be with me,” she whispered, reaching through the Force across space and time, for any Jedi who might hear her call. “Be with me.”

_“Rey”_

She was so startled she nearly fell out of the air, but managed to keep herself focused and floating. 

_“Rey”_ , came the same voice. It was followed by many others, overlapping. None were voices she recognized, but she knew beyond a doubt that she was at last hearing the voices of the Jedi of old.

_“Rey.”_

_“Rey, the Force surrounds you.”_

_“Let it guide you, as it guided us.”_

_“You’ve brought balance to the Force, Rey.”_

_“In the heart of a Jedi, lies her strength.”_

_“Taken your place among the Jedi, you have at last. But alone, never have you been.”_

_“Rey.”_

_“Rey.”_

_“In accepting your true self, so have you accepted us.”_

_“Let us be a beacon.”_

_“Rey.”_

_“The Force will be with you, always.”_

The last voice she recognized. Master Skywalker. Her eyes flew open, brimming with tears, and she slowly lowered herself to the ground. Had she known it was so simple, she would have accepted her role as Jedi long ago. But then perhaps she wasn’t ready for it then. Now however, she felt connected to the Force as she never had been before. Now, she knew with certainty who she was and what her place would be. 

She, Rey of Jakku, of the Resistance, of no particular consequence to the galaxy at large, was a true Jedi at last.

***

Finn’s eyes creaked open. They were immediately attacked by the early morning sunlight that streamed in through the window, and he shut them again. His head was pounding, and he promised himself this would be the last time he ever let himself drink…whatever had been passed around the night before. Solvent of some kind, probably, judging by the lingering taste in the back of his mouth. But he couldn’t help himself in the moment. The energy had been incredible as everyone celebrated. Things only got better once Poe returned from some mysterious errand, far more level-headed than he’d been when he stormed off, and didn’t leave Finn’s side again. Not even at the end of the night when-

Finn became aware of something, some _one_ , beside him. His eyes flew open then, and stayed that way. He took in the space around him. He’d been starting to suspect that this was not, in fact, his bunk. He confirmed his suspicion when he glanced over and saw Poe fast asleep beside him, his normally handsome face wildly distorted by the way it pressed into his pillow. Memories of the last night came flooding back and Finn couldn’t help the ecstatic grin - nor the creeping flush - that now spread across his face. He continued to dwell on the night before, replaying what would surely become some of his fondest memories when a voice shook him out of his reverie.

“Whatrr you smilin’ bout?” Poe mumbled.

“Just, all of it,” Finn said, turning on his side to face Poe. “Stopping the fleet…making it back alive…Us….”

“Us,” Poe repeated, reaching for Finn’s hand. “This isn’t gonna get weird now, is it? Are things gonna be awkward?”

Finn kissed him despite the noxious alcoholic fumes that radiated off of both of them. 

“Only if you make it awkward.”

“Ugh,” Poe said, burying his face in his pillow completely. “How are you so cheerful in the morning?”

“It comes naturally I guess,” Finn said, still grinning. “Some of us are just gifted.”

“Go be gifted somewhere else,” Poe mumbled.

Finn planted a kiss on top of Poe’s head, then rose to get dressed.

He slipped back into the clothes he’d been wearing the night before, hoping it was still early enough that the Resistance camp would still be fairly quiet as he tried to covertly make his way back to his own bunk to change. He slipped out into the early morning and was relieved to see that very few people were actually awake. He was less relieved, however, to see that one of the few people already up and about was Rose. She spotted him from where she was seated at an outdoor table, two mugs sitting in front of her. She raised her eyebrows at him, then lifted one of the mugs in a mock toast. Finn shook his head and rolled his eyes good-naturedly, then headed towards Rose.

She pushed the second mug of caf towards him as he sat down.

“What, you knew I’d be joining you?”

“No, I’m waiting for someone, but I can just get him another caf when he gets here.”

“Oooooh,” Finn said, teasing. Rose kicked him in the shin.

“Not like that, this man is at least 70 years old,” Rose said, sipping her own drink. “Plus, he’s married, so…”

“Who is he then?”

“His name is Alexsandr Kallus, he’s an old friend of General Organa’s. He’s flying in to help me with Hux.”

“Help you how?”

“I’m not sure, also this is not why I called you over here!”

She tried to kick at him again, but Finn had caught on and moved his legs before she could.

“Spent the night with Poe, huh?” Rose asked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

“Grow up, Rose,” Finn laughed.

“No! Come on, how was it?”

“You want details?”

She slapped her forehead, and Finn would have been lying if he’d said he wasn’t enjoying himself just a little. 

“No, it was nice,” Finn said, when he’d finished laughing at the expression on Rose’s face. “Overdue.”

“I’ll say,” added a new voice. Finn turned to see Connix standing behind him, mug of her own in hand and smirk on her face. 

“Did everybody but Poe and I know?

“Eeeeverybody,” the two women said in unison.

“Great,” Finn mumbled.

“Rose, Kallus is here for you.”

“Thanks.” 

Rose stood up to leave, and Finn remembered his other reason for venturing out so early.

“Wait, before you go, have you seen Rey?”

***

Hux slept poorly that night. He could barely hear the sounds of the festivities, his cell block was too removed. He almost wished he _had_ been able to hear something. He’d never been in total silence before, and he found it so unnerving it kept him awake. By the time dawn crept in through the trees, he was equal parts relieved and exhausted. He was just considering trying to take a nap when a voice called out through the trees. 

“Armitage?”

Despite her claim that she would be bringing in someone else to speak with him, it seemed she had come back alone to see him. 

“Good morning…Commander Tico.”

Rose, she’d said her name was. And though he already found himself thinking of her by her given name, he couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud. He couldn’t explain why, but it felt like a privilege he hadn’t yet earned. 

She walked right up to the bars and he rose to greet her. Even though Hux imagined she’d spent a fair amount of time celebrating the night before, she looked refreshed, alert and put together. By contrast, he was in need of a shave, wearing borrowed clothes that were a size too large, and though he had no mirror, he was certain he had dark circles under his eyes.

Rose extended a canister towards him, which he took hesitantly. He could feel liquid sloshing around inside.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Caf,” she said brightly. Then after a moment, “You look like you could use it. Did you not sleep well?”

Hux shrugged, not wanting to burden her with it. He doubted anyone would do anything about it if they could. 

“No, really,” she prodded.

“It’s…it’s too quiet.”

She smiled.

“Most people back at base would envy you that.”

“I doubt they’d envy much else about my situation,” he muttered. At her grimace, he added “Not to worry, I’m sure I will acclimate to the new conditions while I’m in your custody, Commander Tico,” 

He opened the canister and sipped at it. The caf was hot and bitter, exactly the way he liked it. 

“I didn’t add anything to it,” Rose supplied. “You look like the kind of person who takes their caf black.”

“It’s because I’m so sweet already,” Hux said dryly. He had no idea where the joke came from. He was not the kind of person to make quips. He would, however, endeavour to make many more of them if it meant Rose would laugh the way she was doing now. 

“Sorry,” she said hastily, “Anyway, you’re not exactly in my custody. You’re more an informant than a prisoner.”

Hux arched an eyebrow as he looked around at the small cell space.

“Then pray tell, where do you keep prisoners, Commander?”

“OK fair point. But you have to understand most people back at base don’t trust you.”

“And you do?”

She considered this.

“More than most, I guess. I did read your communiqués for almost a year, after all.”

“And now you feel you know me?”

“I feel I want to know what you have to say. Speaking of which, the liaison I mentioned is here. The one who specializes in high-ranking informants. He’s ready to meet with you.”

“And you’re the messenger, is that it?”

“Yes,” she said simply. “I also wanted to check in on you.”

“I appreciate it, Commander Tico,” Hux said.

“Rose,” she corrected. “Rose is fine.”

“In that case, thank you for the caf…Rose.” 

He handed the canister back to her. Their eyes met as she reached for it, and her fingers inadvertently brushed his. He tensed, her touch sending a jolt of electricity coursing through him. Perhaps it was his imagination, but he could have sworn her hand lingered near his for longer than was necessary to retrieve a canister. 

All too soon, the spell was broken. She withdrew her hand and waved to someone out of Hux’s field of vision, beckoning them over. She nodded at Hux, an inexplicable flush creeping over her cheeks, and left quickly.

In her place arrived an older man, roughly in his 70’s. He had a dignified air and was impeccably groomed, like many of the older military officers Hux had known growing up. Unlike them, however, he was not wearing some stuffy uniform, but rather dressed for the elements of Ajan Kloss. 

“Armitage Hux?” he asked, in a familiar kind of clipped accent. If Hux didn’t know better, he would swear the man was Imperial. 

“Sir,” Hux acknowledged, his body and mind responding to the tone of voice rather than the circumstance. He stood a little straighter, and held his head higher, trying his best to look like the General he had been, despite his shabby appearance.

“At ease,” the man said, chuckling. “My name is Agent Alexsandr Kallus. I am the head of certain initiatives within Resistance Intelligence.”

“You’re the one who takes care of high-rank informants, I understand?”

“Yes, although if I’m being honest, you are the highest ranking we’ve had so far.”

“Ah.”

He said nothing else. If they’d never had someone as high up the chain of command as him before, was there even a precedent on how to deal with him once they had what they wanted? Would he simply be executed, never to be seen again? Locked up somewhere, to be trotted out when the victorious Resistance wanted to shame and humiliate him? 

“Something the matter?” Kallus asked. Hux was surprised to hear his concerns were written so plainly on his face, but with nothing to lose, he decided to express them to Kallus. 

“I promise you, Armitage, the Resistance is not in the habit of executing people once they are no longer of use. This isn’t the Empire.”

Hux scoffed.

“I suppose they told you to say that.”

“No. I know from experience,” Kallus said. “I used to be an Imperial officer. Shortly before the Empire fell, I defected, joined the Rebellion. Before that, I was an informant for Bail Organa’s spy network.”

Hux had not been expecting that. His brow furrowed together as he took in everything the older man said. 

“And they just…let you? Help them, when you’d been working against them so long?”

“No one trusted me in the beginning, I assure you. Not even the rebels I worked closest with.”

“And after? Did they eventually accept you?”

“I’d say so. One of those rebels later became my husband,” Kallus said smiling at the thought. “But it didn’t happen overnight. I put in a lot of work, took a lot of time to make right all the wrong I had done.”

A muscle in Hux’s jaw twitched. 

“The wrong you’d done,” he repeated quietly. “How…how did you come to believe that your life’s work was for nothing? How did you remove yourself from it?”

“Time,” Kallus said thoughtfully. “Also a fair amount of therapy once the war had ended. But truthfully, it started with my conviction that the wrong I’d helped perpetuate far outweighed whatever good I thought I was doing.”

“I don’t know if I believe that.”

“You’re here, aren’t you? I think part of you does believe that.”

Hux fidgeted uncomfortably. His exhaustion was catching up with him.

“I won’t keep you long, I’ll be around base for a few days in any case, we can talk more later. Before I leave, I want to give you something to consider, Armitage.”

“What’s that?”

“You’re more than welcome, over the next few days, to simply give me all the information you have and to be on your way. As I heard Commander Tico mention, you’re not a captive here.”

“But…?”

“But, if you decide you’d like to do more to help, to truly become a part of the Resistance, I am here to offer you that possibility. I mentioned my Intelligence programs. If you’re interested, I would like to have you work with the one I am proudest of.”

“What program would that be?”

“I call it the Fulcrum Network.”

  
  


***

Despite her assertions to Doctor Kiso that she could recover just as well in her own bunk, Leia found herself spending a final night in the medical bunk. The good doctor had been fairly insistent, but Leia thought she stood a reasonable chance of persuading her otherwise. It wasn’t until someone else chimed in that she felt her resolve weaken.

“Please, mom,” Ben had said quietly. “Just listen to her?”

If Doctor Kiso was surprised that Leia’s son had suddenly turned up at camp, she remained a consummate professional and didn’t let it show on her face. She simply set Leia up with her monitors and left, all while Ben stood by the door and watched. 

Finally it was only the two of them remaining. 

They hadn’t been able to talk much at the party. Leia had been spotted by everyone else and pulled into the crowd, Ben hovering behind her like a shadow. At least he had Rey, who stood protectively at his side until Leia declared her intention to go back to bed and wound up in Doctor Kiso’s care instead.

Leia fell asleep shortly after, with Ben seated in the small uncomfortable chair next to her. She’d woken up once in the middle of the might to find him slumped over on her bed, sleeping fitfully. She stroked his hair the way she had when he was a baby, and was pleased to find the old trick still worked. 

When she woke up the next morning, Ben was no longer seated in the chair, but rather cross legged on the floor, his lightsaber in front of him. His eyes were closed and he was in deep concentration. Leia said nothing and just watched him until he groaned in frustration and opened his eyes. 

“You won’t be able to meditate in here,” Leia offered. “You’re too distracted.”

Ben started.

“I didn’t wake you up, did I?”

“No.”

She sat up and patted the foot of the bed. Ben hesitated, then sat where she’d indicated, but kept his gaze firmly on the ground. 

“What were you trying to do?”

“I remember at Uncle Luke’s temple, when we learned about kyber crystals, we learned that they could be corrupted, but that they could also be healed…”

“You were trying to heal it?”

He nodded, still not meeting her eye.

“Ben,” Leia said. “Look at me.”

He looked up, pain evident in his expression.

“How do you do it?” he asked.

“Do what?”

“Look at me? Talk to me? After everything I did? I _killed your husband._ ”

Leia sighed.

“You are my son. All I have wanted since that night the temple burned was for you to come back home. And you’re here. I got what I wanted.”

“But I-” Leia held up a hand.

“I know, maybe better than anyone alive now, the toll the Dark side can take on a family. It tore mine apart more than once.” She paused. “Including the day my husband, _your father_ , died.”

Ben dropped his head into his hands.

“I also know,” Leia continued, “that for the first time in my life, the Force put my family back together. That’s all that matters to me right now. I love you, Ben. And I finally have you back.”

She slid out of bed and stood in front of Ben, holding his large frame against her much smaller one.

“The healing won’t be easy, Ben, for either of us. But I’m just happy we get the chance to try.”

“I’m so sorry,” Ben said at last. “I can’t think about anything I’ve done without feeling sick.”

“It’ll take time, but there are ways to help you. In the meantime, if you need to meditate, I suggest you go find Rey.”

“Rey…” he groaned and dropped his head back into his hands. Leia raised a skeptical brow.

“What’s this? I thought you two had some kind of connection, especially given the way she wouldn’t leave your side last night.”

“We do, she…on Coruscant, Palpatine, he…”

Ben launched into a detailed explanation of exactly what had happened in the ancient Sith temple. Leia sat back down as he spoke, each detail sounding even more fantastical than the last.

“So then I brought her back to life,” Ben said, “and when I did she…kissed me.”

Leia’s heart warmed with the way his face absolutely lit up at the memory.

“But?” she prodded.

“But... she can’t want this. Me. I’m Kylo Ren. I always will be. And she’s the galaxy’s saviour! The stigma alone…”

Leia laughed.

“I think you’ll find that Rey is an adult, and is capable of making her own decisions. You’ll also learn that Rey doesn’t take very kindly to being told what she does or doesn’t want, so I suggest when you find her, you don’t tell her what you just told me.”

Ben nodded and stood. He gathered his lightsaber off the floor, kissed Leia on the cheek and slipped out of the medical bunk. 

Leia had just settled back in bed, ready to convince Doctor Kiso to let her leave at last, when she heard a knock at the door.

“General?” came a man’s voice. “Can I come in?”

She looked up and smiled.

“Ah. Come in, General Dameron.”

***

Poe tried to get back to sleep after Finn left, but it was a lost cause. Mostly because of the splitting headache he was now suddenly aware of. He was never drinking again; he was too old for this. But it would have been fine if Finn hadn’t woken him. He loved the man, but if they were going to be sharing a bed for the foreseeable future they would need to have a conversation about being so chipper in the morning. It was unbearable. 

Poe broke into a stupid smile. Who was he kidding? Finn could wake him up before the crack of dawn every morning for the rest of their lives and he wouldn’t care. They got to wake up _together_ , and that was all he wanted. He fiddled with the chain he wore, the one holding his mothers ring. He shouldn’t have taken it back at all, but this gave him an idea. It would have to be sized of course, but as he got dressed he wondered: how soon was too soon to ask Finn to marry him?

After far too much fantasizing about a lifetime spent with his new boyfriend, Poe went outside. His bunk was centrally located, close enough to the dining area that he could usually spot a familiar face at one of the tables. But with all the new people hanging around camp, he couldn’t see anyone he knew. He’d have to speak to the Wexley's today, and to the families of anyone else who had died in the fight. He had seen it done before, more times than he could count, but had never once had to have the hard conversation himself. 

What he needed was advice.

He arrived at the medical bunkers in time to see another man leaving. Ben Solo. The man who’d once been Kylo Ren, who’d nearly broken Poe’s mind trying to force information out of him. He felt a swell of rage, but swallowed it down. He’d promised Finn and Rey that he would trust them. He waited in the shadows for Ben to leave, then waited a few more moments for good measure. When the coast was well and truly clear, he knocked on Leia’s door. 

As he sat down, he asked after her health. She answered all his questions, then they lapsed into an awkward silence.

“So...” Leia said, “you and Finn, huh?”

“Leia!”

She laughed.

“Oh spare me. I’m just annoyed it took you this long, I owe D’Acy a hundred credits.”

“What did D’Acy say?”

“That the war would be over before you made a move.”

It was Poe’s turn to laugh.

“Well, you can tell her that I actually commed Finn from my X-Wing to tell him I loved him in the heat of battle.”

“How dramatic of you. But by that technicality, I suppose I don’t owe her after all. She’s going to be so upset.”

Leia looked thrilled.

“Is it over, though?” Poe asked seriously. “The war?”

“I’d say the decisive battle is over, yes. But no, not the war. It’s going to get messy now.”

“You’ll get us through it, I’m sure.”

“ _Me?_ Poe, you’re the General now. And so is Finn from what I hear.”

“Yeah, _Acting_ General.”

“Well, consider it permanent. Congratulations.”

“Wha- Leia, I can’t. I could lead everyone into battle, sure. But this? Leading them into the future? Being the one they look to?”

“Are you seriously turning me down because you think it’s too hard?”

“No, I-”

“Because the hard part _is_ over. You’ve done it. You led a ragtag fleet into battle, guided pilots from all over the galaxy to victory. What comes next is the _necessary_ part, and you’ll rise to that challenge too.”

Poe nodded. 

“Why are you really here, Poe? I know it wasn’t just to ask about my health.”

After she waved off his protests to the contrary, he confessed that he needed advice when it came to offering widespread condolences. He knew how to do it as a friend, and even a commander, but not as a general. She told him all she could then sent him on his way. 

“Poe,” Leia said as he stood up. “I’m very impressed with how well you’ve done, how you’ve taken to your new roles.”

“Thank you, General.”

“And I know your parents would have been very proud of the man you’ve become.”

He felt a lump form in his throat. He absent-mindedly brought his hand to his mother’s ring.

“Thank you, General,” he whispered. “I’d like to think so.”

*** 

“I was starting to think you’d left,” Hux said, as Track sat on the ground outside his cell. The former stormtrooper passed Hux a small box. He hadn’t opened it yet, but based on the smell it was food. _Real_ food, not the nutritional mush the First Order favoured. 

“Unfortunately, I feel responsible for you,” Track said, opening his own box and tucking in. Hux followed suit.

“So what did he want? The old man?” Track asked.

“He, uh…he offered me a job.”

“Really?”

“Once I’ve been, how did he put it, ‘deprogrammed’, yes. Working to bring former stormtroopers over to the Resistance side.”

“You?” Track laughed. “Getting stormtroopers to switch sides?”

“I won’t be doing the actual recruiting. I’ll offer insight into how they were trained by the First Order, how they’ve been taught to think.

“Sounds like you’ve accepted the offer.”

“I did. 

If Kallus was to be believed, he was already assembling a team to work on this particular initiative. A team including Commander Rose Tico herself. Though Hux didn’t mention it to Track, that had been part of the reason he’d been so quick to accept the job offer.

“Which is why I’m glad you’re still here,” Hux continued.

“What, am I your test case?”

Hux rolled his eyes. 

“No. I was hoping you’d be interested in joining me.”

Track set his box down and stared at Hux, incredulous. 

“Why?”

“I was concerned you might not have any job prospects now that the war is over!”

It was a weak excuse, Hux knew it. But it was better than having to confess his real reasoning. That he was headed into a group where every single person knew who he was, had been affected by the things he’d done, and not a single one trusted him. Rightly so. But Track did. 

“Come on, Hux,” Track said. “The truth.”

So he told him everything. All his worries since he’d agreed to help Kallus, the real reason he wanted Track there with him.

“When it comes to it,” Hux said, “you could have killed me on that Star Destroyer. And you didn’t. I’d say that shows a degree of trust.”

“It does, I guess.” Track extended his hand for Hux to take. “And I accept your offer, Hux.”

“Armitage.”

“Armitage it is.”

***

“There you are!” Rose called out, as Jannah joined her at her usual table. “I’ve been up for hours!”

She’d made herself another cup of caf and strongly suspected this would not be her last one today. The dining area was much louder than it had been earlier. Many of the Resistance fighters, and their new guests were now up and about, and milling around, chatting, eating, even playing the odd card game. The atmosphere was so much more relaxed than it had been even the day before, and Rose relished it. 

“Shhh,” Jannah said, rubbing her temples. “That Connix…she really knows how to party.”

Rose pushed a plate of rolls towards Jannah, who took one and started picking at it.

“Yeah, Kaydel doesn’t let her hair down much. But when she does,” Rose shook her head, “she’s lethal.”

“Why were you up so early, anyway?”

Rose quickly filled Jannah in on everything that happened with Kallus. 

“It also got me thinking,” Rose said. “About what we were talking about yesterday? What do we want to do now?”

“Yeah.”

“Agent Kallus is looking for liaisons, people to help process intel coming in from people who defect. He asked me to join his team. I’d miss working with machines but…”

“But you’d be making a big difference,” Jannah finished.

Rose nodded. 

“What did you tell him?” Jannah asked.

“That I would do it. He said if Hux agreed to come over to our side that he’d set the two of us working together, so it’s not like it’s totally new territory either! I did handle most of his communications before we knew who it was.”

“Maybe I should speak to Agent Kallus,” Jannah said thoughtfully.

“You want to work with Resistance Intelligence too?” Rose asked brightly.

“Not exactly, no. I’m more interested in helping conscripted stormtroopers find their families. If they wanted to, that is. But I imagine Intelligence could help me with that.”

“You’re probably right,” said a male voice behind them. “Right, Kallus?”

“Absolutely.”

The two women turned and were greeted by an unexpected sight. Agent Kallus had returned, now in the company of General Lando Calrissian. 

“Of course we’ll be able to assist you, in fact I’m glad you-”

The sound of raucous laughter drowned out anything Kallus had been planning to say. A group of younger recruits were engaged in a drinking game - Rose’s stomach churned at the idea of drinking so early - with an older Lasat male, and by the looks of things, they were losing miserably.

Kallus closed his eyes in embarrassment. 

“If you’ll excuse me. It seems my husband forgot we aren’t as young as we used to be. ZEB!”

The Lasat turned around, and blanched at the sight of Kallus stalking towards him, imploring him not to “be a bad influence”.

Rose laughed and sighed.

“Oh, I want what they have.”

“A bad influence of a husband?” Jannah asked, eyebrow raised.

“No! Love. Romance. Friendship. Even after all this time.”

“Have they been together long?”

“Almost 40 years, he told me.”

“Long time.”

“Hey!” piped up Lando. “Careful, you’re starting to make me feel old.”

The two women muttered their apologies. 

“Jannah,” Lando said. “If you meant what you said, if you really want to help those kids find home, I’ll help you.”

“Really, General?”

“What good is it having my resources if I can’t help out when it counts.”

“There you go, Jannah,” Rose said. “Looks like we’ll both be making a difference now.”

The harmony of the moment was broken by more laughter as Zeb somehow managed to convince Kallus to join them in their game.

“Want to see what that’s about?” Jannah asked, her eyes gleaming.

“Please,” Rose said, standing up.

***

Rey stared at Finn with a dumbfounded expression on her face.

“Are you serious?” she exclaimed. “You…you…you actually _used the Force?_ ”

“Yes,” Finn said, laughing. 

“For the first time? Just like that?”

“I’ve felt something before. I just thought I was good at reading people.”

Rey was delighted. How was it that the very same morning she’d finally made contact with the Jedi through space and time, her best friend now came to tell her he thought he might also be a Jedi. 

She let out a laugh of pure delight and surged forward from where she was sitting to wrap Finn in a hug.

“So what now?” she asked, sitting back. “Are you going to train with me?”

“Rey, I don’t fully understand… _any_ of this. I don’t know where to start.”

She began to feel some sympathy for Master Skywalker. How did you begin training someone who was totally new to the Force? Especially when you lacked formal training yourself. 

Though at the time, she felt his lessons had left a lot to be desired, over time she’d come to appreciate the core of what he tried to teach her. Lacking alternatives, she decided to use the same approach with Finn. 

“Alright, sit like I’m sitting.”

Finn matched her cross-legged position. 

“Alright,” Rey said, adjusting her position and taking a deep breath. “Now, close your eyes and reach out.”

Finn’s hand shot out in front of him, and Rey snorted.

“What?” he asked, staring at her accusingly. 

“It’s…nothing, sorry. My fault. Reach out like-” She placed her hand over her heart, “with the Force.”

“Right, right.” Finn said, closing his eyes again. It was incredible, watching him let go of his tension and slip into a meditative state. 

“I feel…something,” he said after a few minutes. “Connected.”

“Slowly open your eyes, Finn.”

She watched an expression of wonder bloom across his face as they took in their new surroundings. The rocks that had previously surrounded them on the ground now hovered a few feet in the air. 

“Am I doing this?” Finn whispered.

“You are,” Rey replied just as quietly. 

The quiet spell that had been cast over the clearing was broken by a sudden sound, bringing the stones crashing down to the ground. 

***

Ben knew that the crashing sound up ahead meant he’d just interrupted something. But they hadn’t seen him yet, he still had time to-

“Ben?” 

Well, never mind.

He slipped into the clearing nervously, and was surprised to find Rey and Finn sitting in meditative poses.

“I’m sorry, I…I was looking for you, Rey, but I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“It’s fine,” she said cheerfully. “Join us.”

His eyes darted quickly to Finn.

“No, it’s ok, I can just…”

“Really, Finn said. “Join us.”

He looked back and forth between the two, then sat in the same position as them, setting his lightsaber on the ground in front of him.

On noticing their questioning looks, he explained what he’d been trying to do earlier, but how he’d been too distracted to properly connect with the Force.

“I also haven’t actually felt Light side in years,” he confessed. “Other than yesterday in the Sith temple.”

Rey took his hand in hers, and squeezed it comfortingly.

“It’s strong here, the Light. Try it again. We’ll meditate with you!”

Finn looked skeptical, but forced a smile onto his face.

“Yep.”

Ben closed his eyes. He could hear Rey whispering instructions to Finn, something about reaching out to feel the Light side of the Force, but he tuned her out. She was right, it did flow strongly here. 

He heard a soft click, and knew without looking that his lightsaber floated in front of him, in pieces. The kyber crystal, cracked and overflowing with darkness, hovered within reach, mocking him. 

He reached out a hand and snatched it out of the air. It burned, but still he held it tightly in his fist. His hand shook with the effort. 

Voices whispered to him, telling him of all he’d lost, of the power he’d let slip through his fingers. These people would never accept him. He’d done too much to harm them. Power was the only true way to garner respect, and the Dark side was the path to all the power he could ever hope to have.

But he had heard this all before, in voices far more targeted and specific than the ones that now tried to haunt him. He did as Rey advised Finn. He reached inside, and connected with the light. In much the way that darkness faded with the rising of the sun, so too did the darkness fade out of the crystal. Finally the terrible, haunting voices had given way to pure, blissful music. Ben opened his fist and allowed the kyber crystal to fly back to its place. With another soft click, the components rejoined each other, and the lightsaber fell to the ground.

Ben opened his eyes and found Rey and Finn watching him. Finn looked like he was deeply impressed but trying not to be. Rey, however, beamed at him without restraint. He picked up the lightsaber, and as one, the three of them rose to their feet. 

It felt different now. He knew that Rey and Finn could sense it. Ben felt unburdened for the first time in a long time, in a way he couldn’t hope to explain. He stepped away from them, and switched on the emitter. 

The blade and crossguards materialized out of their ports. Where there had once been an angry crackling, they could only hear a consistent hum. The blade that had once appeared jagged now looked smooth and sturdy. 

The light that had once been an angry painful red now shone the clearest, brightest blue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cannot BELIEVE it took me this long to reveal my gingerose trash heart to all of you but here we are!
> 
> Last chapter coming shortly! Thank you so much, as always for reading and for sticking with me on this!


	20. Peace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Somehow, she knew they played a part in making her the woman she was today. Their lives were inextricably connected, bound together in the Force and in something altogether more powerful than that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it kiddos. The epilogue. The end. I cannot believe it.
> 
> Before we go any further, a huge HUGE thank you to theskiddlyboop for beta-reading every single chapter, and leaving comments that had me in stitches. I would have given up long ago without you <3
> 
> Ok enjoy!

The park was beautiful, shades of blue and green everywhere as far as the eye could see, dotted in picturesque fashion by flowers in only the brightest colours. The park had been recently refurbished and dedicated by none other than Leia Organa, princess, general, and new resident of Naboo’s Lake Country. 

In pride of place within the park stood a massive triptych mural, commissioned by Leia, realized by many of the local artisans, and containing life-sized depictions of a handful of beings. 

The central image showed a former queen of Naboo, Padmé Amidala. Beside her stood a man, the Jedi she had married in secret. Just beyond them stood two couples. One couple, the last Queen and Viceroy of Alderaan, held a small girl between them while the other, a pair of moisture farmers from Tatooine, held onto a small boy. The image on the left bore likenesses of those who had been instrumental in the lives of not only the former queen, but of Anakin and Luke Skywalker and of Leia Organa. Politicians, Jedi, and handmaidens alike standing around a small brunette woman dressed in simple clothing. The image on the right was dedicated to the new generation. To Leia’s son Ben, to Rey the Jedi master, and Finn the Jedi in training. To Poe Dameron the pilot, and Rose Tico the mechanic-turned-intelligence operative. Their images took up only half the allotted space, the forward-looking artists believing that there should always be room for this extended family to grow. 

Rey knew that over time it would grow. New figures would be added, and each time they were, she would be here to appreciate and acknowledge everything they meant to her.

She loved looking at the mural, with each visit revealing a new detail she hadn’t noticed before. She and Ben came to Naboo for the dedication ceremony, as had Finn and Poe. Rose had been invited as well, so of course she’d made the trip over, but in a surprising development she did not make the trip alone. 

They’d been taking tea on Leia’s verandah when Rose had arrived, bidding everyone a quick hello.

“I’m so sorry I’m late. Jannah and Connix send their regrets, they’re about to leave on assignment,” Rose said breathlessly. 

“Who  _ is _ that back there?” Ben asked. Indeed, they could all see a tall figure standing in the shadows of the corridor, as though trying to stay out of sight.

“I couldn’t totally get away from work either,” Rose supplied. “So my aide came with me, I hope that’s alright?”

“Of course it is,” Leia said. “I completely understand what it’s like when work follows you across the galaxy.”

“Your aide?” Poe asked, gesturing at the figure. “Is that him?”

Poe paused as he looked closer then suddenly burst out. 

“Wait. That’s Hux! Hux is your aide?!”

“Yup,” Rose said too quickly. “My aide.”

Rey couldn’t help but notice Rose was blushing. It only got worse when she caught her eye and Rey winked at her. She’d noticed how Rose talked about Hux when they spoke via holonet, and knew whatever was happening there wasn’t strictly platonic or professional.

“I don’t know how you do it,” Finn said, totally missing the look that passed between the two women. “I couldn’t be around someone that grumpy all the time.”

“He isn’t always grumpy!” Rose protested.

“The man doesn’t know how to smile, Rose.” Poe said.

“Actually, Armitage has a very nice smile,” Rose said, before clamping her mouth shut. She’d said too much.

“He does?” Finn asked.

“And since when is he  _ Armitage? _ ” Poe demanded.

Despite the awkward start to Rose’s visit, when they’d all set out to the park to see the mural, both for the dedication ceremony and again for their picnic a few days later, the six of them had gone together. 

Rey relished when they could be together like this. A year after Coruscant, there was still so much work to be done, and none of them were ever in the same place for long. She spent her time training Finn, and developing her own skills whenever Ben was around. Ben was often away, at the disposal of the new government, helping out wherever he could to try and make right all the wrongs perpetuated by the First Order. Poe had accepted a training post with the new navy, but had deferred until he knew where Finn would be settling. Rey knew the two of them were keen for an answer from her. They’d made no secret of the fact that they wanted to get married, and were only waiting for a little stability before taking that step. 

“I have an announcement,” Rey said, sitting up a little straighter. 

Five pairs of eyes turned to look at her intently. 

“I have decided to begin a training temple, as you all know,” she said. They all nodded at once, except Hux, who only nodded after Rose elbowed him. “I want it to be a place of peace, a place where students can train no matter their age, and most importantly,  _ voluntarily _ . There are plenty of things I will gladly take from the Jedi of old, but that particular separation practice is not one of them.”

They exchanged looks of wordless agreement. Not a single person assembled had been untouched by separation in some way, and they all still felt the pain keenly. 

“So what’s your announcement?” Ben asked.

“I’ve decided to open the temple here. On Naboo.”

Ecstatic outbursts popped up all around her. Finn and Ben agreed to help her where needed with her new project. Poe immediately began looking into the local naval academy. Rose declared her intention of visiting them often, assuring Hux that of course they would be able to take the time off. 

“Did my mother put you up to this?” Ben muttered in Rey’s ear.

Rey laughed.

“No, I like it here! Besides, you can’t tell me the idea of being a little closer to her doesn’t appeal to you at all.”

He kissed her on the cheek.

“How do you know me so well?”

“Sometimes I feel like I can read your mind,” Rey shrugged, before kissing him properly.

The rest of the afternoon passed by far too quickly. Finally, as the sun began to set, Finn pointed out that Leia was expecting them back at her house for dinner. She’d hinted that mysterious guests would be joining them, but one look at the menu and at the sabacc tables laid out in the sitting room told them they could expect Chewie and Lando to stop by that night. 

They packed up their belongings and headed for the small boat that would take them from the park straight to the villa. Rey lingered behind to look at the mural one moment longer, her heart full as she took it all in. 

“I see your group around here a lot,” a voice said. Rey spun to see an elderly woman standing there, watching her. “But you, I see most of all.”

Rey couldn’t deny that she came to the park more often than was logical, for reasons she struggled to express. 

“It…calls to me,” she said at last. “The mural.”

“What’s your name?” the woman asked.

“I’m Rey,” she said with a smile.

“Tell me, Rey, what’s so special about the mural that it calls to you?”

She glanced back at all the faces depicted there. A few of them belonged to those she now held near and dear to her heart. One was her own. One was that of the man she loved. The rest were total strangers, but somehow, she knew they played a part in making her the woman she was today. Their lives were inextricably connected, bound together in the Force and in something altogether more powerful than that. It suddenly hit her, that elusive term she’d always sought out yet denied herself for so long. 

“They’re family,” she said simply.

The woman nodded, bid her farewell and continued on her way, apparently satisfied with the response. 

Ben waited along the path to the boat, his hand outstretched. She caught up with him and laced her fingers with his. 

Rey of Jakku, of the Resistance, of nowhere in particular would never have believed it. But it was true. She had found a place in the galaxy, and a family at last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna miss these kids so much.


End file.
